On Sunday, April 28, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO will join in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the labor movement to observe Workers Memorial Day—a day dedicated to those who have been killed or injured on the job and to renewing the fight for strong safety and health protections.
Together, we have fought hard to ensure the highest standards of safety at worksites throughout the country—winning protections that have made jobs safer, saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and prevented millions of workplace injuries and illnesses. Yet still, each year, thousands of workers are killed while on the job and millions more suffer injury or illness.
In 2017 alone, New Jersey reported 69 job-related fatalities and more than 70,000 injuries and illnesses. These tragedies and deaths could have and should have been prevented.
So, on Sunday, as we remember and honor workers who were denied their right to a safe workplace, we must all resolve in our mission to champion safe jobs as a universal right.
If we continue to make workplace safety a priority, we can prevent unnecessary job-related death, injury, and illness. As a labor movement, our nation’s collective voice of working families, we must stand united against this administration’s ongoing attacks on workers' rights and protections and demand that elected officials put the well-being of our brothers and sisters above corporate interests.
Together, we can improve working conditions in this country and create a wealth of good, safe, family-sustaining jobs.
Join us in honoring our fallen brothers and sisters at any of the following events:
Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Workers Memorial Day Commemoration
Date: Friday, April 26, 2019
Time: 11:30 am
Location: New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (worksite), Livingston Avenue next to the State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark
Workers Memorial Day Candle-light Vigil & Discussion
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Time: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Location: Historic Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood Street, Haledon, NJ 07508
In addition to the traditional candle-light vigil, Irwin Nack, Associate Professor of History at William Paterson University (retired) and past president of the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) Local Union 1796, AFL-CIO, will offer a presentation and lead a discussion, "The Trump Program versus a Pro-Labor Agenda."
For additional information about the Museum's Workers' Memorial Day observance, please call the Museum at (973) 595-7953 or email [email protected].
Mercer County Central Labor Council and the Mercer-Burlington Building Trades
Workers’ Memorial Mass
Date: Monday, April 29, 2019
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), 2491 Kuser Road, Hamilton, NJ 08690
UWUA Local 534
Workers Memorial Day Observance
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Bergen County Utilities Authority, Foot of Merhof Rd., Little Ferry, NJ 07643
Click here and enter your ZIP code to find more Workers Memorial Day events near you.
STOP Workplace Violence
Workplace violence is the third-leading cause of death on the job, resulting in more than 29,000 serious, lost-time injuries for workers each year. Health care and social service workers are at greatest risk of violence on the job because of their direct contact with patient and client care.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
Take Action NOW. Write Your Representative: Co-Sponsor H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act of 2019.