Worker’s Memorial Day Remembrance

      April 28th is recognized as an International Day of Remembrance for workers killed on the job, and since it’s inception in Canada by the Canadian Union of Public Employees in 1984, the day has come to represent our need to “Mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living.” It is a somber reminder that we must maintain our dedication and commitment to safety and health in the workplace with extreme prejudice.  In 1989 the United States recognized April 28th as Workers Memorial day. The paragraphs that follow give a glimpse into a gathering held this past April.

      The chill of the morning air quickly turned hostile by an unforgiving breeze that seemed a remnant of winter. The light rain that began to fall acted as an exclamation point to the discomfort of those gathered for this somber occasion. The cameras were rolling as the color guard approached the outdoor stage and the crowd noise faded with their arrival. We were huddled together to mourn our dead on this Worker’s Memorial Day in Western Pennsylvania, however it could have been Quebec, Chicago, Tokyo or virtually any city in any country across the world.

     After an opening prayer and a number of speakers from various walks of life, the memorial bell was struck with 13 hammer blows, once for each local worker killed on the job in the past year. Then the hammer was solemnly presented to a slight woman of 32 years whose grief was palpable. I wondered what she might be thinking as she slowly raised the hefty maul above her head. Perhaps, “What will I do? How will I provide for my children? How can I live without him”? As her husband’s name was read aloud, the hammer fell and struck the memorial bell which reported for all gathered that yet another life was lost at work. She handed off the maul and quickly disappeared into the sea of onlookers. The melancholy of taps signaled the end of the service and the gathered crowd began to blend with the ever present background noise of the city.

     In another setting, another city, President Obama spoke these words, ”Providing safer work environments will take the concerted action of government, businesses, employer associations, unions, community organizations, the scientific and public health communities, and individuals. Today, as we mourn those lost mere weeks ago in the Upper Big Branch Mine and other recent disasters, so do we honor all the men and women who have died on the job. In their memory, we rededicate ourselves to preventing such tragedies, and to securing a safer workplace for every American.”