Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Workers Memorial Day a time to reflect and recommit to staying safe on the job
Six people, six individual tragedies.
There were six UAW members in 2006 who will never return home from the jobs where they were productive for their companies and supported their families.
And this year, four UAW members have died already in workplace incidents.
April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, a somber reminder that until all accidents and injuries are avoided, our work is not done. According to the AFL-CIO, 5,702 workers were killed by job injuries in 2005; some 50,000 workers die each year from occupational diseases; coal mine deaths doubled in 2006; and, 8.5 million public employees have no protection from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“More than three decades ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which promised workers the right to a safe job,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said. “Unions and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality, but the number of workplace injuries and deaths remains enormous.”
Many UAW members this week will participate in vigils and other functions to remember their fallen brothers and sisters in our union and for all workers. Others will take stock of their own workplaces and highlight job-safety problems. And others will make sure their elected representatives demand that on-the-job health and safety issues receive the same kind of attention as the corporate bottom line.
However Workers Memorial Day is observed, we know that belonging to a union is the surest way to make our workplaces safer. Nothing is more important to our union and to our families.
A downloadable Workers Memorial Day poster and lists of our fellow UAW members who died on the job in 2006 and thus far in 2007 is available here.