Commemorate Workers Memorial Day

Every day, an average of 13 workers die of incidents related to their job, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Tens of thousands more die of work-related diseases. In 2020 alone, about 5,000 workers died in the U.S. in work-related fatalities.

The DOL will memorialize these workers on Thursday, Workers Memorial Day, at the steps of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska. Jim Frederick, deputy assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Tonya Ford, director of the United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMWF), will sign an alliance tomorrow evening to affirm their collaboration to raise awareness of workplace safety and health issues. Attendees, including surviving family members, will hold a candlelight vigil as the names of workers fatally injured on the job are read.

“The signing of this alliance will help us raise the voices of families whose loved ones failed to return home from a job,” Frederick said.

USMWF is a nonprofit, grassroots organization that offers support, guidance and resources to families affected by work-related incidents, diseases, and illnesses.

Visit OSHA’s website starting at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, April 28 for streaming of Workers Memorial Day events and find other events which will be held live and virtually.