Last week the Senate confirmed the nominations of Joseph A. Main to be the assistant labor secretary for the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and William E. Spriggs to serve as the DOL’s assistant labor secretary for policy.

Main began his career as a coal miner in 1967, and soon after began working in various local union positions for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). According to a White House press release, Main started working for the UMWA’s safety division in 1976. Main was appointed Administrator of the UMWA’s Occupational Health and Safety department in 1982, and held that position for 22 years. In this capacity, Main testified in 2000 before the House of Representatives’ Sub-Committee on Workforce Protections, calling for increased MSHA inspections and scrutiny of worksites and mine operators, and improved health and safety standards to protect miners.

William Spriggs, who currently serves as a professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University, worked on the Obama Administration’s transition into office as a member of the DOL’s Agency Review Team. According to his Howard University faculty bio, Spriggs serves as Chair of the Independent Health Care Trust for United Auto Workers (UAW) Retirees of Ford Motor Company, and is on the board of the Retiree Health Administration Corporation, which administers the health care trusts for UAW retirees of Ford and General Motors. In 2008, Spriggs served on the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union (UFCW) National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights chaired by the UFCW president. Spriggs is also a board member of the National Employment Law Project and the National Advisory Council of Corporate Voices for Working Families. During the Clinton Administration, Spriggs led the staff of the National Commission for Employment Policy in 1993 and 1994. From 1994 to 1997, Spriggs served as a senior economist for the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, during which time he worked to, among other things, pass the increase in the minimum wage and prevent legislative efforts to roll back affirmative action in federal procurement.