Workers Memorial

MOURN for the Dead
FIGHT for the Living

PROTECT WORKERS NOW!

DECADES OF STRUGGLE by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions. Unions have won laws and protections such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the federal Mine Safety and Health Act and numerous standards that have made workplaces safer for all workers. Union contracts have given workers a voice on the job. Nonetheless, the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Millions of workers are killed or injured every year.

On April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job. As we remember workers who have died in workplace catastrophes, suffered diseases due to exposure to toxic substances or been injured because of dangerous conditions, we rededicate ourselves to the fight for safe workplaces.

Each year, nearly 6,000 workers are killed at work, 50,000 die from occupational diseases and millions more are injured. Many long recognized hazards have not been addressed and new workplace hazards emerge. Ergonomic hazards cripple and injure more than 1.8 million workers each year and remain the nation's biggest job safety and health problem. Immigrant workers are being killed on the job in record numbers. Millions of workers have no Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protection.

We will honor the victims of workplace injuries and illness by holding employers accountable for protecting workers' safety and health. We will call for action on needed job safety protections. We will demand stronger enforcement of the law and protection from known workplace hazards and from new safety and security threats. We will fight for OSHA coverage for all workers and the freedom of workers to form unions and, through their unions, speak out and bargain for safe jobs, respect and a better future. On April 28, we will honor fallen workers. And we will keep on fighting until the promise of safe jobs is a reality

The Protecting America's Workers Act Fulfilling the Promise of Safe Jobs for All Workers.

Nearly four decades ago, Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, promising American workers the right to a safe job. While progress has been made since the OSH Act was passed, the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities remains still enormous. Each year thousands of workers are killed and millions more injured or diseased because of their jobs.

Unlike most other federal safety and health laws, the OSH Act has never been updated. There are major gaps and weaknesses in the job safety law. Millions of state and local public employees, flight attendants and other workers lack OSHA coverage and protections. Penalties for serious and willful violations of the law are weak, even in cases where workers are killed or injured. Protections for workers who report hazards or job injuries are inadequate, and workers' rights to participate in OSHA enforcement actions are limited.

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THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every American worker the right to a safe job. Unions and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality winning protections that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented millions of workplace injuries. On this Workers Memorial Day, join us in honoring the workers who have been killed or injured by continuing the fight for safe jobs.

The Protecting America' s Workers Act (PAWA) - H.R. 2067 and S. 1580 would update and strengthen the OSH Act and provide workers stronger job safety rights and protections. Specifically, here is what PAWA would do:

Provide Coverage Under the OSH Act to State and Local Public Sector Workers, Federal Workers and Other Workers Who Lack Full OSHA Protection. PAWA would extend the OSH Act and existing job safety protections to all state and local public employees, federal workers and millions of other workers who are inadequately covered by other laws. For state and local public employees, states could adopt a state OSHA plan to cover these workers, and if not, federal OSHA would apply. For federal workers, PAWA would extend full OSHA protections including penalties for federal agencies that violate the job safety law. For flight attendants and other workers whose safety and health has fallen between the cracks, the Secretary of Labor could extend OSHA coverage If another federal agency failed to provide protections as effective as OSHA.

Increase OSHA Civil and Criminal Penalties for Job Safety Violations. The bill would raise penalties for OSHA violations to $12,000 for serious violations and $120,00 for willful and repeat violations. For violations resulting in worker deaths, new higher penalties would be set and include a mandatory minimum, so fines could not be reduced to a slap on the wrist, as now is the case. Criminal violations of the OSH Act would be made a felony, instead of a misdemeanor, and be expanded to cover cases that involve serious bodily injuries, not just worker deaths.

Prohibit the Use of "Unclassified" Violations and Require Correction of Hazards While Employer Contests of Violations are Pending. PAWA would ban the practice of issuing violations as "unclassified" which employers have sought to keep from having a record of serious, willful and repeat OSHA violations which may count against them in litigation or contract awards. PAWA would also require that employers correct violations, even if they contest citations or penalties, to make sure that workers are protected while the employer's contest is reviewed, which is not required under the current law.

Enhance Whistleblower Protections for Workers Who Raise Job Safety Concerns and Report Injuries or Illnesses. PAWA strengthens the OSH Act's Section 11 (c) anti-discrimination protections. It provides workers the right to pursue their case if OSHA fails to act in a timely fashion and writes into the law a worker's right to refuse unsafe work. The bill makes clear that employers cannot retaliate against a worker for reporting a job injury or illness and it requires regulations to be issued that prohibit the establishment of any employer policies or practices that discourage or discriminate against workers for reporting injuries and illnesses.

Expand Worker and Union Rights in OSHA Inspections and Enforcement Cases. PAWA requires that workers be paid for the time spent participating in OSHA inspections. The bill expands workers' and unions' rights in enforcement proceedings by providing them the right to contest the classification of violations and proposed penalties, not just the abatement date, as is now the case. In addition, workers and unions are given the right to object to modifications of citations that have been issued and to ask OSHA and the Review Commission to review these objections.

Provide Victims of Job Injuries and Illnesses and Family Members the Right to be Heard in OSHA Investigations. PAWA would give workers who have been injured or made ill, the right to meet with OSHA investigators, receive copies of any citations and to be heard before any settlements are reached. In cases where a worker is killed or incapacitated, the bill gives family members the right to participate on the worker's behalf

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY 2009-2010

Joint Message from Cal Rapson & Diana Tremblay

While observing Workers' Memorial Day on April 28, General Motors (GM) locations represented by United Auto Workers (UAW) will reaffirm a commitment to workplace safety and encourage employees to extend their safety practices into their personal lives.

Workers' Memorial Day was established in the United States in 1989 to recognize workers who were killed or injured on the job and has since become an international day of remembrance. In honor of this day, UAW-represented GM facilities across the country will hold events to promote workplace safety; commemorate workers who lost their lives or were injured on the job; and take the opportunity to advance safety message throughout the facilities.

UAW members and GM employees will view a special health and safety video featuring Cal Rapson, UAW vice president and director of the GM department, and Diana Tremblay, vice president of labor relations for GM North America later today, here at Fort Wayne it will be played on the plant TV system

Rapson and Tremblay will use the video to discuss the importance of following through on specific safety protocols.

They will talk about the importance of a culture of safety, specifically a culture of safety that supports all people looking out for each other. Additionally, Cal and Diana both talk a great deal about the importance of safety 24/7, and taking all of the safety elements that we stress so strongly in our locations and to practice them at home.

An Everyday Commitment

In addition to the safety video, flags at our UAW-represented facilities will be flown at half-mast, and employees will observe a moment of silence in memory of workers who died from work-related injuries.

"We firmly believe that every working person deserves a safe and healthy work environment" says Rapson in the video. "Workers' Memorial Day offers an opportunity to learn from past incidents in order to prevent future accidents or fatalities."

"Our workplaces are already benchmarks for occupational safety, and, on this 2010 Workers' Memorial Day, our pledge is to keep improving our record," adds Tremblay.

While Workers' Memorial Day provides a timely forum to reinforce GM's approach to workplace safety and focus on ways to keep workers safe, it is not the only day of the year that such issues are addressed.

It's not just on Workers' Memorial Day that we focus on this commitment, It's every day. It is indeed our No. 1 priority.

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY -- APRIL 28th 2010