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Workers Memorial Day
Observed on Sunday

April 26, 2002

When the IBEW was founded 111 years ago, one of every two electrical workers died on the job.  In fact, our first president, Henry Miller, died after a fall from a utility pole in Washington, D.C. in 1896.  Now during the dawn of the 21^st century, workplace conditions are safer, but workers still face obstacles to a safe working environment. 

Workers Memorial Day, Sunday, April 28, marks the day union members in the United States and Canada remember those who died on the job and voice support for enforcement of existing policies and passage of new legislation to protect workers.  

As the first Workers Memorial Day following September 11, the day will have more significance than ever, said IBEW Local 2213 Treasurer Karen Boughtin.  Our level of consciousness has been raised in so many ways.   

Local 2213, Syracuse, is among several union locals that will participate in a Safety Education Fair, an observance that will include reading a list of union members who died on the job and other activities stressing the importance of safety.  Local 43, Syracuse, is also participating in the fair, sponsored by the Central New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health.

This years observance follows a recent announcement that the U.S. Department of Labor will make compliance with a new set of ergonomic guidelines optional.  After crippling strong ergonomics rules last year, the Bush Administration said two weeks ago it plans to "encourage" employers to prevent repetitive motion injuries.  The toothless guidelines are expected to be promulgated by the end of the year.

The administrations plan is a replay of failed strategies from the past, said Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts).  They rely on voluntary guidelines that most corporations will simply ignore.

In addition to the repeal of mandatory ergonomic standards, t>he Bush administration has also targeted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for budget and staff cuts and proposed cutting worker safety and training programs.

The September 11 terrorist attacks claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, more than 600 of them union members and 20 of them were members of the IBEW.

According to the AFL-CIO, each year 6,000 people are killed at work, 50,000 die from occupational diseases and millions more are injured.  Repetitive motion jobs injure and cripple more than 1.8 million workers annually and remain the nations biggest job safety and health problem. Millions of workers have no OSHA protection.

Safety and health protection is stagnating for most workers and for some, it is actually declining, according to a new report from the AFL-CIO.

Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect; a National and State-by-State Profile of Worker Safety and Health in the United States shows that while overall rates and numbers of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities have fallen slightly, they are on the rise for certain groups of workers, including Hispanic workers. The study also shows that protections across the states vary widely.

On Friday union members in Washington, D.C. will rally at the Department of Labor to renew pressure for strong ergonomic standards to protect the tens of thousands of workers suffering from ergonomic injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, the single most common job safety hazard.