Dick Stickler
Encyclopedia
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
(MSHA) between October 16, 2006 and October 21, 2009.
He was born in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
in 1940 and graduated from Fairmont State University
Fairmont State University
Fairmont State University is a public university located in Fairmont, West Virginia, USA. Enrollment of the university is about 7,700 and offers masters degrees in business, education, teaching, criminal justice and nursing in addition to 90 baccalaureate and 50 associate degrees...
with a bachelor's degree in general engineering. He worked for BethEnergy Mines Inc., a division of Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
, for over thirty years. From 1997 until 2003 he was the director of the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Bureau of Deep Mine Safety. He presided over the Quecreek Mine Rescue
Quecreek Mine Rescue
The Quecreek Mine Rescue took place in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, when nine miners were trapped underground for over 78 hours, from July 24 to 28, 2002...
in Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 77,742. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania,...
in 24 July 2003.
Stickler was nominated to the role of Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of MSHA by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in September 2005. The appointment was strongly opposed by the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
, a major worker union in the mining industry, and eight of the nine miners rescued following the Quecreek disaster.
The nomination also faced significant resistance in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, with Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
and Jay Rockefeller
Jay Rockefeller
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as Governor of West Virginia, a position he held from 1977 to 1985...
(both of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
) successfully corralling widespread opposition from both Democratic and Republican senators. In remarks at the time, Senator Rockefeller noted that Stickler had overseen "some of the most dangerous, most frequently cited for safety violations in the entire industry. In fact, his mines had a rate of preventable accidents that were 3 times the national average". Senator Rockefeller, who had recently marshalled the MINER Act through the Senate to strengthen mine safety regulation, noted that Stickler had testified to Congress that he did not believe more legislation was necessary but rather that enforcement was an issue.
Despite resistance from the Senate, and with the nomination being returned twice to his desk unaffirmed, President Bush later appointed Stickler as a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
in October 2006. The appointment, which was met by vocal criticism from members of the Senate - expired on December 31, 2007. On January 4, 2008, President Bush again appointed Stickler as acting head of MSHA, and again renominated him to take the position on a permanent basis.
Stickler reached public notoriety as a result of his role in co-ordinating the rescue effort to find six miners trapped by a collapse at Crandall Canyon Mine
Crandall Canyon Mine
The Crandall Canyon Mine, formerly Genwal Mine, was an underground bituminous coal mine in northwestern Emery County, Utah.The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007. Ten days later, three rescue workers were killed by a subsequent collapse...
in August 2007. In a report released in March 2008, the Inspector General of the Labor Department said that MHSA was negligent in protecting workers at the mine. The investigation into the cause of the disaster, including the loss of three would-be rescuers, is still ongoing, with completion expected sometime in the summer of 2008.