Oregon Workers who Died on the Job to be Remembered April 27th

Workers' Memorial Day to be observed at the State Capitol April 27th.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Many of us take for granted that we will come home safely from work each day.

However, in 2005, 5,702 people in the United States lost theirlives as a result of their work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services, Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) urges all Oregonians to honor those workers who died on the job on Workers' Memorial Day.

The statewide observance of Workers' Memorial Day is scheduled for Friday, April 27th on the west steps of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem from noon to 1:00 PM.

The memorial service, coordinated by Oregon AFL-CIO, will feature a reading of the names of Oregon workers who died on the job in 2006.

"We often talk about statistics, but Workers' Memorial Day reminds usthat each name represents a worker whose plans and dreams for the futurewere cut short ," said Michael Wood, administrator of Oregon OSHA.

"This day provides a moment for us to join their friends and families inremembering those workers and acknowledge we have not reached a stoppingpoint; we have not yet finished the job of making workplaces as safe asthey can be."

The annual Workers Memorial Day on April 28th serves as a nationwide day of remembrance.

It recognizes the thousands of U.S. workers who die eachyear on the job, and the more than 1 million people in the United States who become injured each year while at work.

The observance is held on April 28th because on that date in 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Through a partnership of labor, business, and government workingtogether to improve workplace safety and health conditions in Oregon,the number of fatal workplace incidents eligible for workers'compensation benefits have been cut by roughly three-quarters since the Oregon Safe Employment Act was enacted in 1973.