• In this Issue >
  • Features
    • From the President
    • Is that a FLEX-FUEL you're driving?
    • Devastating news
    • Face time
    • UAW legislative priorities for 2006
    • UAW delegates meet with congressman
    • Workers Memorial Day
    • The Dangers below
    • Connecting dots, to Delphi’s Miller
    • Life on Line
  • Union Front
    • Company postpones filing court motions
    • Workers authorize strike
    • Anti-union group grasping at straws
    • Dana workers choose the UAW
    • Election results may be key to passage
    • Member minute
    • Organizing Roundup
  • Departments
    • From the Readers
    • Just the Facts
    • World of Work
    • UAW 101
    • Safer Work
    • Still Solid
    • Skilled Trades
    • Workers' Words
    • Solidarity Index / Past Issues

Workers Memorial Day

A time of remembrance

Most of us take for granted coming home from work alive each day and being healthy in retirement.

But the fact is every year nearly 6,000 American workers are known to die from job-related injuries, and more than 55,000 are estimated to die from work-related illnesses. Another 6 million are injured at work.

Workers Memorial Day is the one day each year when working people and their unions pay tribute to those who have been hurt or killed on the job in the past year. This year we will remember those brothers and sisters on April 28.

The UAW renews its pledge to fight for safe and healthy jobs. Our members and local unions across the nation, in Canada and Puerto Rico will honor this day at rallies, tree-planting ceremonies and other events.

We’re fighting to make this administration take its responsibility seriously to protect all Americans.

OSHA laws have made a difference. Effective government enforcement and a strong labor movement prevent deaths and injuries.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the following six UAW members who died from injuries on the job in 2005.

Larry Gabriel

Brett Maggart, 41, UAW Local 685 electrician, DaimlerChrysler Kokomo Transmission, Kokomo, Ind. Brother Maggart was servicing equipment when it cycled, and he was crushed.

Jeffrey Mankowski, 38, UAW Local 212 semi-truck driver, DaimlerChrysler, Detroit. Brother Mankowski was on the Ohio Turnpike near Castalia, Ohio, when he veered off the road and struck another truck that was on the roadside.

Wayne Mueth, 42, UAW Local 110 millwright, DaimlerChrysler, Fenton, Mo. Brother Mueth was ejected from a work platform basket elevated on hi-lo forks while pulling a conveyor chain attached to the basket.

Ronald Ward, 46, UAW Local 9212 maintenance worker, Indiana Department of Transportation, Siberia, Ind. Brother Ward was collecting debris from a roadway when he was hit by a vehicle.

Rodney Windish, 52, UAW Local 3032 electrician, EaglePicher, Traverse City, Mich. Brother Windish was troubleshooting a machining operation inside a guarded area when the machine started and crushed him.

Robert Zell, 35, UAW Local 9212 maintenance worker, Indiana Department of Transportation, Lafayette, Ind. Brother Zell was working on a roadside when he was hit by a vehicle.