April 28, 2018, is Workers Memorial Day, a time to remember workers killed or injured on the job and to renew the fight for strong safety and health protections. After years of struggle, we have enacted various measures to protect workers from hazards, however our work must continue in terms of both policy and ongoing education.
While there is no way to fully recognize the contributions of working people to our nation, we must at least take the necessary steps to ensure that working people never have to sacrifice their safety, their health, or their own lives to make an honest day’s living. That’s why this year’s theme is “Safe Jobs. Every Worker’s Right”. Safe jobs keep families together and build stronger communities. No matter what the job is, the labor movement realizes that it is in the best interest of all workers to ensure the highest standards of safety.
In a globalized economy, we must assert more than ever before the need to ensure worker safety. Rather than allowing safety standards to be compromised, the labor movement believes in raising up all workers.
As we take this time to recognize those workers who were denied their right to a safe workplace, we must all resolve in the mission to champion safe jobs as a universal right. In the timeless words of Mother Jones: “mourn for the dead, but fight like hell for the living.”