Labor will honor Oregon workers killed on the job

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, is a day to remember workers killed on the job.

This year, the Northwest Oregon Labor Council will conduct a memorial service immediately following its monthly delegates meeting Monday, April 28, at the IBEW Local 48 Hall, 15837 NE Airport Way, Portland.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and the memorial service will begin at 7:30 p.m.

At the service, the names of the 59 workers killed in Oregon in work-related accidents in 2007 will be read. As their names are read a bell will toll and a flag will be raised in their memory. [A list of workers killed and their occupations is posted on Pages 8 and 9 of this issue.]

Michael Wood, administrator of Oregon-OSHA, will be the keynote speaker, and proclamations declaring April 28 as “Workers Memorial Day” will be presented from the offices of the governor of Oregon, mayor of Portland, and chair of Multnomah County.

The 59 workers killed on the job in Oregon in 2007 are recorded as “work-related deaths” by the Department of Consumer and Business Services. That means they are compensable under state workers’ compensation claims. Another 24 people died at work from heart attacks and other natural causes. Those deaths are not part of the official number of work-related deaths as reported by OR-OSHA.

Nationally, 5,703 workers were killed in 2006 (the latest year data is available) and more than 4.1 million workers were injured due to job hazards. Another 50,000 died due to occupational diseases.

The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Trade unionists around the globe now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning.

Decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvement in working conditions.