AFSCME’s Saunders ahead of Workers Memorial Day: Expanding workers’ voice on the job is key to saving lives

“Of all the rights working people have, none is more fundamental than this: the right to return home at the end of the day, safe and unharmed. Far too many workers are killed, injured or contract serious illness while on the job. On Sunday, we pay tribute to those who lost their lives at work, and we organize in their memory for the sake of the loved ones they left behind. Their deaths were preventable, and they were irreplaceable.
 

“Under President Biden’s leadership, strides have been made on worker safety. A reenergized OSHA has stepped up enforcement – but the fact remains, even one worker death is too many. We must continue to hold employers who skirt safety regulations accountable, because our lives are more important than their bottom lines. Study after study shows that the best way to improve worker safety is through collective bargaining and the protections of a union contract. That is why we are leading the fight to give all working people the voice on the job to negotiate for safe working conditions.”