Department of Labor (DOL) leaders recognized Workers Memorial Day in a ceremony held April 24.
Speakers at the ceremony, held at the department’s Washington headquarters, included Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Acting Assistant Secretary Amanda Wood Laihow, Mine Safety and Health Administration Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy James Paul McHugh, and Representative Laurel Lee, R-Fla.
The DOL livestreamed the event.
Workers Memorial Day is April 28, which also marks the anniversary of OSHA, which opened its doors in 1971. Local observances across the country mark Workers Memorial Day, bringing together workers, families, and unions.
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) held its own observance of Workers Memorial Day on April 28 in Salem. The Oregon OSHA event was cosponsored by the Oregon American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
“Every day, people across Oregon go to work to provide for themselves and their families, to help their fellow Oregonians and make the state a thriving place to live,” Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said in a statement. “Today, we honor the Oregonians whose lives were tragically lost doing their job and offer our deepest condolences to their families. Today, we recommit to our efforts to make working conditions safer and protect workers across the state.”
“Job safety laws remain far too weak, allowing employers to endanger employees often without repercussion,” Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor said. “Oregon’s unions will always stand up against any attack on the safety and health of working people. On this solemn day, we honor the workers who did not make it home and demand increased safety, more severe consequences for safety violators, and dignity at work.”
During the ceremony in Salem, the names of Oregon workers who died on the job in 2024 were read aloud.
Oregon OSHA reminded workers and employers of its safety resources, including rights and responsibilities, protecting against retaliation, agency consultation services, technical services, keeping employees safe, and education and training, as well as the Department of Consumer and Business Service’s (DCBS) Multicultural Communications Program, which provides outreach to communities with limited English proficiency.
Oregon OSHA oversees a state workplace safety and health program that’s approved by federal OSHA. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, state plans must be “at least as effective” as the federal program.
The National Council on Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) released its annual “Dirty Dozen” report on April 24 in recognition of Workers Memorial Day. The report names 12 employers the group believes failed to protect workers on the job, leading to preventable injuries, illnesses, and deaths.
National COSH and local COSH groups are union-affiliated worker safety and health advocates. The group’s selection criteria for its “Dirty Dozen” are:
- Severity of safety risks to workers;
- Repeat and serious violations of safety laws and standards;
- Influence within their industry, including their power to set broader workplace norms; and
- Ongoing worker and ally campaigns to address unsafe conditions.
Mar-Jac Poultry is named among the 12. Last summer, Mar-Jac reached a settlement agreement with the DOL to resolve citations for safety and child labor violations. Mar-Jac agreed to abate the cited safety violations, provide lockout/tagout and machine guarding training, and perform lockout/tagout audits during the facility’s sanitation shift.