Landsman Leads 100+ Members of Congress in Letter to Save NIOSH, Reinstate Federal Workers

Cincinnati, OH – On Friday, Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. opposing the Administration’s decision to cut 1,500 jobs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Congressman Landsman – joined by 114 House Democrats – sent a letter to President Trump and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy urging them to reinstate more than 1,500 NIOSH employees and contractors across the country who had been terminated. Last week, Secretary Kennedy ordered the mass termination of workers across HHS agencies, including more than 400 employees and contractors at Cincinnati NIOSH.

With laboratories and offices in Ohio, Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, and Washington, DC – NIOSH is responsible for everything from protecting workers against chemical spills and mine hazards, to investigating firefighter line-of-duty deaths and administering the World Trade Center Health Program for first responders.

Congressman Landsman’s letter to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy was supported by more than 15 national labor organizations including the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

Congressman Landsman’s letter reads, in part:

“We urge you to reverse the termination decisions at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The work of these employees and contractors plays a critical role in worker safety and has enormous economic impacts in communities across the country. If this decision stands, millions of workers across the country will face greater risks to job injury, illness, and death – including firefighters, whom NIOSH plays a critical role in protecting . . .

“Every day, NIOSH employees and contractors carry out critical work to protect workers nationwide. Their responsibilities range from reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals, mine dangers, and avian flu, to investigating firefighters’ line-of-duty deaths and identifying links between firefighting and cancer.

“As such, we urge the restoration of NIOSH’s important work and call for the immediate reinstatement of all employees and contractors who have been impacted.”

The full text of Congressman Landsman’s letter can be found here.

###