Workers' Memorial Day

Today, April 28th, is recognized around the world as Workers' Memorial Day.
Each year, 6,000 workers loose their lives on the job. Today, the National Labor College is breaking ground for a memorial to these everyday heroes in recognition for the sacrifice they have made.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Workers' Memorial will be attended by the new Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, America's new Secretary of Labor who is committed to putting the needs of working people at the heart of her Department.

UFCW members, young and old, work around dangerous equipment and in hazardous conditions. Like many workers, we work under immense pressure to get the job done and may not always have enough help. As a result, injuries occur. Sometimes these injuries are minor, but all too often they may result in death or traumatic injuries, such as amputations. Learn more about how you can Stay Safe at work.

According to the International Labor Organization:

-Each year, more than two million women and men die as a result of work-related accidents and diseases
-Workers suffer approximately 270 million occupational accidents each year, and fall victim to some 160 million incidents of work-related illnesses
-Hazardous substances kill 440,000 workers annually – asbestos claims 100,000 lives
-One worker dies every 15 seconds worldwide. 6,000 workers die every day. Work kills more people than wars.

According to the AFL-CIO blog, two congressional hearings today will focus on strengthening the nation’s workplace safety and health protections. The House Education and Labor Committee’s hearing is “Are OSHA’s Penalties Adequate to Deter Health and Safety Violations?” and the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Worker Safety’s hearing is “Introducing Meaningful Incentives for Safe Workplaces and Meaningful Roles for Victims and Their Families.” This is a significant change from the Bush administration. A report released April 1 revealed the Bush administration’s OSHA systematically failed to perform follow-up inspections for employers who put workers in serious danger. At 45 work sites where OSHA oversight was deficient, 58 workers subsequently were killed by job hazards. Click here to read the report. [pdf]

Parade Marchers Display Diversity, Strength of America’s Workers

For Maria Somma, it was a dream come true. The native of Vietnam and naturalized citizen was one of the 265 union members who braved freezing temperatures today to join representatives from across the country and our armed forces to participate in the official inaugural parade for President Obama. The contingent of union members taking part in the parade included members from the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the National Education Association.

With 15 union members riding a union-made float and 250 marchers alongside, the workers’ contingent was one of the largest groups in the parade. This is the first time in recent memory that workers have participated in the parade.

Somma, who lives in Pittsburgh and is a member of the United Steelworkers, rode the float representing the AFL-CIO constituency group Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). She says labor’s participation shows the power of the American Dream for all people.

It’s very exciting to be welcoming a person of color into the White House and to be a part of history. Even if it was minus 20, I would be glad to be here. This is an incredible achievement for this country. For Barack Obama to come from his background and rise to the top is not the typical American story. His inauguration is part of the transition of this nation to fully embrace all its citizens.

Marching with a banner, “America’s Workers: United for Change,” participants also carried flags that represented the issues most important to working families: an “Economy That Works for All,” “Great Public Schools,” “Good Jobs Green Jobs” and “Health Care for All.” The overall theme of the labor float is “Honoring America’s Workers.”

- James Parks, AFL-CIO Now blog; click here for his complete report.