Mourn for the Dead, Fight for the Living

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.afscmeblog.org/category/workers-rights/

April 28th, 2008

On April 28, AFSCME and the other unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe workplaces. The toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths is enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed, and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs.

Our fight for safe jobs has gotten harder because for more than seven years the Bush administration has refused to act. Instead, at the behest of corporate interests, the administration has moved to roll back workplace protections. Voluntary compliance has been favored over new standards and enforcement. Many workers have little or no safety and health protections, and major workplace hazards remain unaddressed.

This year, with the election, there is an opportunity to change the direction of the country and make workers’ issues a priority once again. More than three decades ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. AFSCME and other unions have fought hard to make that promise a reality, winning safety and health protections that have saved hundreds of thousand of lives and prevented millions of workplace injuries. Yet millions of public employees across the country are still not protected by basic occupational safety and health laws.

On Workers Memorial Day, we will continue that fight. We will fight to create good jobs in this country and to guarantee health care for all. We will fight for the freedom of workers to form unions and, through their unions, to speak out and bargain for safe jobs, respect and a better future. We will demand that the country fulfill the promise of safe jobs. For all.

[KSinTX]

1. Workers deserve same recognition as our fallen soldiers. K & R

My friend's dad died of asbestosis after years at Dow. While they gave him good medical care, the underlying cause was needless. Here's my moment of silence.

[Omaha Steve]

2. A good friend of ours had a family business in heating/cooling

Asbestoses killed his dad years ago.

[KSinTX]

3. Thank you for posting this

I know these things don't get the recognition they should, but we need some historical perspective and actual memory in which to frame how regular Americans are used to as a means to many ends. Politicians show up with great regularity at factories, offices, military bases and anyplace an American can be used as a backdrop for their candidacy. They speak flowery words of praise, shake their hands and make huge promises. The betrayals start on election day to the cheers of these very people they will sell down the river. It is a sad scene to behold. I call it Political Groundhog Day and it's true.

Wishing all those families my very best.