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April 28, 2004
Transportation Labor Honors Workers Memorial Day
Demands Government Action on Safety and Security
Washington, D.C. . . . The following statement was issued today by Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, commemorating the April 28 Workers Memorial Day.
"On Workers Memorial Day, transportation workers honor their fallen brothers and sisters and worry that government and industry are not only failing to protect their health and safety, but are actually turning back the clock for both workers and passengers.
"Government statistics paint a terrible picture – 60,000 workers die each year from job-related illness and injury and 4.7 million workers are injured on the job annually. But behind these numbers lies the deep sense of anxiety that transportation workers have each day. It is an anxiety rooted in watching too many corporations play to Wall Street and cut too many corners on maintenance and training. It is an anxiety driven by seeing workers harassed, intimidated, or fired for reporting injuries or
safety and security lapses. It is an anxiety from one of the nation’s most dangerous lines of work – transportation – undergoing a radical and frightening transformation since 9/11.
"Our government must take bold action to protect transportation workers and passengers. It must ensure that workers receive all the training their jobs and these times demand. It must provide whistle-blower protections that ensure no worker is silenced from speaking out on safety and security. It must keep a sharp and un-biased eye on corporations and their safety practices, particularly at a time when many businesses are struggling to be profitable.
"Workers in this country seriously question whether their government is looking out for their health and safety. When workers see enforcement of federal safety rules weakened to the point where compliance is often voluntary, when workers hear their company and its lobbyists sneer at any form of regulation, and when workers see politicians targeting a century of progress made by the labor movement, it makes many transportation workers think it is time for a change in Washington.
"On Workers Memorial Day, we honor those who have died in the workplace by fighting for those who are still on the job."
Transportation Labor Honors Workers Memorial Day
Demands Government Action on Safety and Security
Washington, D.C. . . . The following statement was issued today by Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, commemorating the April 28 Workers Memorial Day.
"On Workers Memorial Day, transportation workers honor their fallen brothers and sisters and worry that government and industry are not only failing to protect their health and safety, but are actually turning back the clock for both workers and passengers.
"Government statistics paint a terrible picture – 60,000 workers die each year from job-related illness and injury and 4.7 million workers are injured on the job annually. But behind these numbers lies the deep sense of anxiety that transportation workers have each day. It is an anxiety rooted in watching too many corporations play to Wall Street and cut too many corners on maintenance and training. It is an anxiety driven by seeing workers harassed, intimidated, or fired for reporting injuries or
safety and security lapses. It is an anxiety from one of the nation’s most dangerous lines of work – transportation – undergoing a radical and frightening transformation since 9/11.
"Our government must take bold action to protect transportation workers and passengers. It must ensure that workers receive all the training their jobs and these times demand. It must provide whistle-blower protections that ensure no worker is silenced from speaking out on safety and security. It must keep a sharp and un-biased eye on corporations and their safety practices, particularly at a time when many businesses are struggling to be profitable.
"Workers in this country seriously question whether their government is looking out for their health and safety. When workers see enforcement of federal safety rules weakened to the point where compliance is often voluntary, when workers hear their company and its lobbyists sneer at any form of regulation, and when workers see politicians targeting a century of progress made by the labor movement, it makes many transportation workers think it is time for a change in Washington.
"On Workers Memorial Day, we honor those who have died in the workplace by fighting for those who are still on the job."
