Labor

A federal investigation found that the 2007 Crandall Canyon mining disaster in Utah was the result of a faulty mine design. Nine people died in the mine collapse, which had been blamed on an earthquake.

The investigation report, released Thursday by the Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration, called for the mine operator to pay $1.6 million in fines.

A spokesman for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said that the federal agency should have done more to prevent the mine collapse and to stop the mine's operation.

Download the report here. See the statement by Kennedy spokesman Anthony Coley below and download Kennedy's own investigative report here.

A new congressional report has found the Labor Department failing to monitor how it spent nearly $300 in earmarks.

The General Accountability Office (GAO) found the Labor Department did not set goals and follow the progress of grants for job training and economic development that were partially paid for by earmarks.

Democrats on the Senate appropriations subcommittee for labor plan to question Labor Secretary Elaine Chao about the spending at a hearing today.

"This Administration has asked American taxpayers to trust its discretion in awarding these grants without full and open competition, and now it appears that good decisions were not made in choosing or accounting for how to best spend taxpayer dollars,

The AFL-CIO has filed a complaint with the Bush Administration that says violence against trade unionists in Guatemala may have worsened since the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) became law, reports The Hill's Kevin Bogardus:

Expect the labor union to use the complaint as an argument against the free trade agreement with Colombia. Colombian supporters believe the trade deal would help that country's economy and thus lessen violence against labor activists. But the AFL-CIO complaint on Guatemala runs counter to this argument.

"This petition will demonstrate that labor conditions in [Guatemala] have remained unchanged or have worsened since the trade agreement was ratified," charges the complaint. "The level of physical violence against trade unionists increased markedly since the agreement entered into force in July, 2006. Violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining continue apace, and access to fair and efficient administrative or judicial tribunals remains elusive."