Some Bruceton jobs spared, but unions say HHS still pushing major cuts

Although some of the federal jobs at the Bruceton Research Center won’t be cut after all, the national unions representing the workers warned Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services is still moving forward with deep cuts to its workforce.

Dozens of positions at the Bruceton center, located on Cochran Mill Road on the border of Pleasant Hills and South Park, were removed from the chopping block, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, said Wednesday.

Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, and Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, were among the elected officials who lobbied against the cuts.

“This reinstatement didn’t come from goodwill. It came from community pressure, worker organizing & legal action. We drew a line around our people and said: NO,” Lee wrote on the X social platform. “You don’t get to gut the very agency that protects worker health without a fight.”

This reinstatement didn’t come from goodwill. It came from community pressure, worker organizing & legal action. We drew a line around our people and said: NO.

You don’t get to gut the very agency that protects worker health without a fight.https://t.co/zNdkdtMuXi

— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) May 15, 2025

In April, I learned that the Trump Admin was firing around 200 workers at the NIOSH facility in Allegheny County. We jumped into action, working with Congressional colleagues to call for the White House to reverse these firings that would have hurt workplace safety. Today, we… pic.twitter.com/WjBPgnq4rV

— Congressman Chris Deluzio (@RepDeluzio) May 13, 2025

The employees whose jobs were spared are respirator certification workers at the center. In layman’s terms, they test the efficacy of things like the N-95 mask that became ubiquitous during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bruceton center is part of the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is among the agencies supervised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The unions representing the HHS employees warned Friday that the department remains intent on gutting what it called front line science and public health programs.

“Secretary Kennedy has been working hard to ensure that the critical functions under NIOSH remain intact,” HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard emailed TribLive. “The Trump Administration is committed to supporting coal miners and firefighters, and under the Secretary’s leadership, NIOSH’s essential services will continue as HHS streamlines its operations. Ensuring the health and safety of our workforce remains a top priority for the Department.”

In April, HHS targeted cuts of 1,500 CBC and 90% of NIOSH staff, according to a statement from the American Federation of Government Employees.

After public outcry, about 300 NIOSH employees — including what Deluzio described as “dozens” — at the Bruceton center were reinstated.

“Let us be clear: our unions stand united. We will not be divided. We oppose all of these layoffs, whether at CDC or NIOSH,” said Brendan Demich, chief steward of AFGE Local 1916, which represents the workers in Western Pennsylvania and Spokane, Wash. “This is a coordinated assault on the public health workforce. Federal workers are being used as pawns in a political game, and the consequences will be deadly for the people of this country.”

The layoffs aren’t about streamlining offices, Yolanda Jacobs, president of AFGE Local 2883, which represents CDC workers in Atlanta.

“They are targeting science,” said Jacobs. “Public health researchers and front line scientists are being thrown out of their jobs while the country faces growing environmental, occupational, and public health crises.”

A labor rally is planned for May 22 in Washington outside HHS headquarters, the union said.

They are demanding reinstatement of all employees, restoration of funding to programs and direct talks with the union before any future restructuring.

Related:

• Pittsburgh-area federal workers at Bruceton Research Center to keep jobs
• Mass firing of federal health workers includes Pittsburgh region
• Pa. mine safety, research offices targeted for closure as president touts coal