Max Follmer, Huffington Post
The federal agency tasked with investigating the Utah mine collapse denied a request by the families of six trapped miners that the United Mine Workers represent them in the probe of the matter, the union said Monday.
All six of the families had signed documents designating the union as their representative in the investigation, UMWA spokesman Phil Smith said. The Mine Safety and Health Administration told the union’s attorneys on Monday that the agency would not heed the request.
“MSHA requires that miners sign these papers, but the miners in question were unable because the are trapped inside the mine,” Smith said.