Kaiser Loses Gramercy Appeal

A federal appeals court decided Monday that the U.S. Mining Safety and Health Administration had jurisdiction to investigate a July 5, 1999, explosion at Kaiser Aluminum’s plant in Gramercy, La.

Kaiser’s labor dispute continues with 2,900 United Steelworkers of America members at five plants, including Gramercy.

Appealing an earlier U.S. District Court decision, Kaiser had argued that MSHA’s jurisdiction at Gramercy didn’t extend to the plant since it wasn’t a mine. Instead, Kaiser said, the alumina plant should fall under the supervision of the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that MSHA was the agency to investigate the accident and enforce safety rules. MSHA investigators concluded in March that the company was at fault in the explosion which injured 29 workers. The agency cited and fined Kaiser $533,000 for 23 safety violations. Kaiser is appealing that ruling.