Nationally, 150 working men and women die each day because of their work, never to return home to their families and loved ones.
On April 28th, we remember all of them. Please plan to attend the Ceremony in Albuquerque or take a moment to honor and remember coworkers who we have lost in your own way.
More than four decades ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. AFSCME and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections that have made jobs safer and saved lives. President Trump has rolled back regulations and issued dozens of executive orders that make us less safe on the job. CHECK-OUT how much love Trump really has for workers HERE [PDF].
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Workers' Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at the Workers' Memorial Park
- Northeast corner of Aspen and San Mateo (2 blocks south of I-40)
Contact NMFL for posters and materials to mark Workers' Memorial Day in your workplace or download posters here.
Our work is not done. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more suffer injury or illness on the job. Workplace fatalities are on the rise nationwide. New Mexico is the only state in the union without 2017 statistics posted to this OSHA fatality statistics page.
One thing the statistics don't measure is the STRESS which we manage at work, and the resulting impacts on our health. Here in New Mexico, 8 years of Governor Martinez's leadership, have exposed 1,000's of state employees to overwhelming workloads and a culture of fear and intimidation. This has a very real impact on our health and we're standing strong in our unions to change these conditions!
After years of struggle, Labor has won new rules to protect workers from deadly silica dust and beryllium, a stronger coal dust standard for miners and stronger anti-retaliation protections for workers who report job injuries.
All of these hard-won gains are now threatened. The Trump administration has launched an all-out assault on regulations. The president has ordered that for every new protection, two existing safeguards must be removed. President Trump and Republicans in Congress have overturned worker safety rules issued by the Obama administration. Protections against beryllium and coal dust have been targeted for weakening. Agency budgets and enforcement programs are on the chopping block. The safety and health of workers and the public are in danger.
We must fight back. We cannot and will not let them turn back the clock and destroy the progress we have made to make jobs safer and save lives.
On April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe jobs. This year we will come together to stand united against the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. We will demand that elected officials put workers’ well-being above corporate interests and demand good jobs that are safe and healthy, and pay fair wages. We will defend the right of every worker to a safe job and fight until that promise is fulfilled.