April 28 Is Workers Memorial Day
Nearly 55 years ago on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect, promising every worker the right to a safe job—our fundamental right.
The law was won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement, which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action from the government to protect working people. Since then, unions and allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections under the law that have made jobs safer and saved lives. But all of that is in serious danger as elected leaders threaten to cut staff, defund or outright eliminate federal job safety agencies.
"Together on this Workers Memorial Day, we will fight for our lives and confront the attacks from the Trump Administration on safety and health agencies that keep our workplaces safe," said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. "We will fight in the halls of government and on the shop floor. We will fight to protect our fundamental right to a safe job. Our nation’s strength depends on safe workplaces and workers who can return home to their families at the end of each shift."
Each day, more than 340 workers are killed and more than 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable. Job safety agency resources already are critically underfunded: It would take the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 185 years to inspect every workplace once, and Congress only allows the agency to spend less than $4 protecting each worker it's responsible for. Cuts to hazard investigations and coal mine inspectors take us back decades and harm workers.