Publications

Workers Memorial Day: April 28, 2006

Last year, AFSCME members were among the first to arrive and the last to leave in the effort to help people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Once again, this nation counted on the courage, skill and dedication of nurses, other health care workers and public employees during a catastrophe. Yet, the state and local government workers who put themselves in harm's way along the Gulf Coast, like millions of other public employees across the country, are still not covered by basic occupational safety and health laws.

Each year on April 28th, beginning in 1989, AFSCME and the labor movement have observed Workers Memorial Day. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the creation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. For AFSCME, this is also a painful reminder that public employees were not covered by the legislation when it was passed more than 35 years ago. Today, only two dozen states have adopted federally approved OSHA programs to cover their state and local government workers.

On this Workers Memorial Day we renew our commitment to fight for worker safety. AFSCME is aggressively organizing workers to build power in the workplace. Collective action is needed to ensure that nurses and other workers have the proper equipment, procedures, training, adequate staffing and other conditions necessary to prevent injuries, illnesses and deaths. We must also mobilize in the political arena to elect officials who support workplace safety and programs that working families need.

Workers Memorial Day materials, such as the poster above, can be ordered on the AFSCME website.

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