Mourn the Dead but Fight for the Living

April 28^th is national Workers Memorial Day. Every day in this country, 14 workers are killed on the job. In the past three months alone, we have witnessed 4 major workplace tragedies, some with documented willful violations by OSHA -- the West Virginia Massey mine disaster and explosions at the Tesoro Refinery in Washington State and Kleen Energy plant in Connecticut and last week the TransOcean oil refinery in the Gulf of Mexico.　 Together they have claimed 41 workers’ lives plus those yet counted by the TransOcean refinery explosion. This Workers’ Memorial Day, we pause to remember their lives and the thousands of lives lost each year in workplaces across the country.

A new report from the AFL-CIO entitled Death on the Job shows that in Georgia in 2007 (the latest year for which statistics are available), 193 workers were killed on the job and 101,800 were injured of which 49,500 resulted in time lost from work.　 Nationally, 5,071 workers lost their lives on the job, and more than 4.6 million were injured.

There’s no question we need jobs in this country—but they have to be good jobs.　 We need stronger safety regulations and stiffer penalties for companies who put their employees at risk.　 We’ve got to guarantee that workers have the right to freely form and join a union by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.　

With a union, workers are not only more likely to have good health care and a stable job, but also the power to speak up about safety concerns on the job, free from the threat of employer intimidation.　 Unions give workers a means for bargaining for better health and safety protections and training in their workplaces. Contrary with the bad economy in their favor, many non-union companies threatens workers for speaking out on safety concerns reminding them 8-10 people are in line for their job. 　

On April 28^th, take a moment to remember the millions of hard working Americans who have been hurt or killed on the job, and add your voice to the call for good, safe jobs for all workers.

Brett A. Hulme

President

Savannah Regional Central Labor Council