WITH SONG AND PRAYER — Jonathan and Annie Rosen sing at a Worker's Memorial Day ceremony at the PEF monument in April. John Bulgaro, Local 294 Teamsters president, PEF President Roger Benson, PEF Vice-President Joe Fox and Wendy Hord, a NYSUT health and safety specialist were among those who took part in the ceremony. — Photo by Deborah A. Miles
Fight for workplace safety continues
Labor unions mourn for lost workers
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Labor leaders and Capital District family members gathered to observe Worker’s Memorial Day on April 28 at the PEF monument and garden area in Latham.
At a heartfelt ceremony, the names and causes of death of more than a dozen local workers who died on the job during 2004 were read. Some were crushed by faulty equipment, others died of burns from explosions, and many suffered job-related heart attacks and strokes.
“We are here to mourn for the people who were killed on the job and to renew our struggle for a safer workplace,” said PEF President Roger Benson. “The best way to make sure workers are safe is to allow workers the freedom to join together in a union.”
Benson said each year more than 6,000 people in the U.S. are killed at work and 50,000 workers die from occupational disease. Millions of workers are injured, such as nurses who suffer epidemic rates of repetitive-motion injuries.
Bush lax on safety
Wendy Hord, a safety and health specialist from the New York State United Teachers, said the Bush administration has been lax in protecting workers.
“The current White House administration has overturned or blocked dozens of workplace protections, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s ergonomics standard, new protections against tuberculosis, reactive chemicals and cancer-causing substances,” Hord said.
“We are the public and private- sector workers who make communities run on a day-to-day basis and in times of crisis,” she added. “We still have a lot of fighting to do to make sure work places are safer and to ensure the U.S. does not become a low-wage economy where safety is ignored and workers are disposable.”
International mourning
The Capital District Area Labor Federation (CDALF) sponsored the event, which included music by Annie and Jonathan Rosen and an invocation by Brian O’Shaughnessy. CDALF President Joe Fox, who is also a vice president of PEF, read the names of those who passed.
O’Shaughnessy said, “May we and all our elected officials be motivated to ensure all workers are freed of inhumane or unsafe working conditions. We pray for healing and peace.”
The event marked the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Services to commemorate Workers Memorial Day were held throughout the U.S. and in nearly 100 countries.
To view other community memorials, visit www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/safety/memorial/.
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