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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The United Mine Workers of America is protesting Utah's decision to leave a coal-mine safety post vacant.
Union secretary and treasurer Daniel J. Kane calls the decision a step backward that puts Utah miners at risk.
Utah lawmakers created a one-man Office of Coal Mine Safety after twin cave-ins that left nine people dead at Crandall Canyon in 2007.
The state office didn't have any enforcement power -- federal regulators are in charge -- but served as a clearinghouse for complaints about unsafe conditions at Utah mines.
The Associated Press reported last week that Garth Nielsen left the post for a job in the private sector and that Labor Commissioner Sherrie Hayashi decided not to fill the job for budget reasons.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)