PAYING RESPECTS — PEF Health & Safety Trainer Geraldine Stella, Health & Safety Specialist Matt London, PEF Vice President Joe Fox, PEF Region 8 Coordinator Lou Matrazzo and Health & Safety Director Jonathan Rosen gather at the April '04 Workers’ Memorial Day service in Albany. Nearly 100 people attended to pay tribute to those who lost their lives while working on the job. — Photo by John Epting

Interfaith memorial service honors fallen workers
Safeguards, new laws needed to prevent injuries

By DEBORAH A. MILES
PEF leaders and members marked Workers’ Memorial Day with a somber ceremony this year as the names of 65 workers from New York state were read at an interfaith service. Many died falling from elevated platforms. Some suffered heart attacks. Others were crushed, shot or hit by motor vehicles.

The Capital District Area Labor Federation (CDALF) and the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition sponsored the interfaith service held in late April in Albany where nearly 100 labor leaders and family members gathered to remember those who died on the job. The service was part of a two-day conference that focused on improving labor conditions.

“A lot of these deaths were needless, and could have been avoided,” said Joe Fox, PEF vice president and CDALF president. “Along with remembering these victims, this service is designed to help motivate us to solve the problems in workplaces that cause illness or death.”

Injuries on the rise
During 2002, more than 12,800 workers in this country were injured or made ill each day, according to an AFL-CIO job report. Every year, nearly 6,000 people are killed at work. New York state ranks fifth in the country for workplace injuries and deaths.

Cases of workplace violence in health care and social services in New York State dipped from 1998 to 1999, but increased from 2000 to 2001, according to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We have fewer workers delivering fewer services to more people,” Fox said. “This is one reason PEF is pushing for laws to end short staffing and mandatory overtime for nurses. Workers would have fewer injuries and patients would benefit with more quality care.”

Bush blocks safety laws
“The Bush administration has turned its back on workers and workplace safety,” Fox said.
For instance, Fox noted the Bush administration has overturned or blocked dozens of important workplace protections, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s ergonomics standard, and new protections on tuberculosis, reactive chemicals and cancer-causing substances.

Fox said Workers Compensation Law is another area the union is hoping to improve. John Gardani, one of the speakers at the interfaith service and a second-generation bricklayer, explained how he fell and shattered his ankle and several bones in one leg. He has been out of work for more than a year and struggling to survive without the benefit of unemployment insurance.

“Let’s remember that millions of American workers continue to work in pain or lose their livelihoods,” Fox said. “We need to work toward a safer workplace for all people, and fight for their rights.”