Workers’ Memorial Day Public Commemoration

On April 28, 2014, there was a Workers’ Memorial Day Commemoration held outside of the Massachusetts State House to honor and remember those workers who were killed on the job this past year.

It was a somber afternoon, as family members, friends, professional leaders, peers, and many others stood outside to pay their respect. However, it was also an afternoon dedicated to focusing on doing better, making the workplace safer, and fighting for a change.

As Douglas K. Sheff, President of the Massachusetts Bar Association, stated so eloquently, “The MBA and I will not stop working until these stairs are empty on a day like today, until safety is more important than profits, and until we can all attend celebrations rather than funerals.”

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupation Safety and Health (MassCOSH) released Dying for Work in Massachusetts: The Loss of Life and Limb in Massachusetts Workplaces. This report estimates 480 workers died in Massachusetts from occupational disease. In addition, it provides a conservative estimate of 1,800 workers in Massachusetts who were newly diagnosed with cancers caused by workplace exposures, and 50,000 as the number of workers seriously injured on the job.

As Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of MassCOSH, stated in regard to this report, “Too often workplace fatalities are called ‘freak accidents.’ “Calling it ‘freak’ means that it has never happened before and will never happen again so there is no need to change anything. This report confirms that most workplace deaths can be prevented if proper safety measures are implemented.”