In 2008, one of SEIU Local 1021's members was killed on the job: James Strickland, a BART structures inspector, was hit by a train he didn't see coming because BART wasn't keeping brush and tree branches cleared away from the tracks.
Every April 28, the international labor movement stops to commemorate the lives and sacrifices of workers who never made it home, and to renew the struggle for safer and healthier workplaces. It's a day for speaking up as well as moments of silence. According to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than four million workers were injured on the job and nearly 6,000 were killed by injuries due to job-site hazards in 2007 alone. Thousands more died of job-related diseases.
New Era of Workplace Safety Enforcement
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis spent part of Workers' Memorial Day helping to break ground for a new national workers' memorial at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland and to honor fallen workers who have been killed on the job. "When it comes to worker health and safety let me be clear, the Department of Labor is back in the enforcement business," said Solis, reiterating that the focus on the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as its Wage and Hour Division is especially important now.
The bricklaying ceremony was followed by a traditional candle lighting to honor all fallen workers, 15 of whom die every day because of workplace injuries and disease, according to the latest AFL-CIO report.
Also on April 28th, important health and safety hearings took place on Capitol Hill. Two members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee -- Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) -- heard testimony on meaningful incentives for safe workplaces and roles for victims and their families. The House Education and Labor Committee reintroduced the Protecting American Workers Act, a bill that would substantially improve the current OSHA law, adding criminal sanctions for employers with egregious violations. Labor federation Change to Win renewed their commitment to keep workers safe yesterday, as Director Chris Chafe said yesterday:
[...] "In order to keep workers safe, we must continue to strengthen our laws to protect more workers by ending government indifference and corporate misbehavior. We must improve safety and health standards, close the loopholes in OSHA's inspection programs and mandate strict follow-up enforcement actions against employers where workers were killed or injured. Congress also must pass the Protecting America's Workers Act to give OSHA the authority necessary to make sure that employers who flagrantly violate the law not only comply with safety and health standards - but also finally face the consequences of their lawlessness."
Check out Workers Memorial Day resources from the AFL-CIO here.
