Category Archives: 2021 USA

USA: Las familias y lxs compañerxs de trabajo recuerdan a los perdidos en el trabajo durante la Semana Conmemorativa de lxs Trabajadorxs

El estándar temporal de emergencia COVID-19 salvará vidas y debe ser “aprobado rápidamente y aplicado rigurosamente”, dicen los activistas de seguridad

LOS ÁNGELES- Al reunirse en la Manifestación Nacional virtual para observar la Semana Conmemorativa de lxs Trabajadorxs, lxs activistas de seguridad dijeron hoy que un nueva Norma Temporal de Emergencia COVID-19 (ETS – por sus siglas en inglés) salvará vidas y debe ser “rápidamente aprobada y aplicada rigurosamente”.

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USA: Families and co-workers remember those lost on the job for Workers’ Memorial Week – National COSH

Life-Saving COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) Must Be “Rapidly Approved and Rigorously Enforced,” Say Safety Activists
Families and Co-Workers Remember Those Lost on the Job for Workers’ Memorial Week

LOS ANGELES – Gathering at a virtual National Speak Out to observe Workers’ Memorial Week, safety activists said today that a new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) will save lives and must be “rapidly approved and rigorously enforced.”

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USA: A proclamation from US President Joe Biden on Workers Memorial Day, 2021

white concrete building during night time
Photo: Unsplash/Tabrez Syed

America’s workers are the backbone of our economy.  In every State, territory, and Tribal land, they leave their homes and families and head to work — applying their grit and skill to create, serve, and service all those things that make our world turn.  Even during our Nation’s most difficult periods, American workers have always persevered, ensuring that our communities remain resilient and that our Nation stands ready to confront the unforeseen challenges of each new generation. Though workers make tremendous sacrifices — especially essential workers who selflessly serve their communities during times of crisis — none of them should have to risk injury, illness, or death in order to provide for themselves and their families. Tragically, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are hurt or fall ill every year in the workplace — incidents that are often preventable.  On the 50th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, we reflect on the workers who have tragically lost their lives or have been harmed in the workplace, and we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every American worker has a safe and healthy work environment.

Over the past century, labor unions have fought hard — very often successfully — to draw attention to unsafe workplace environments and organize for safer work conditions and protections from the Federal Government.  In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act codified private-sector workers’ right to organize, collectively bargain, and strike.  Decades later, the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act in 1969 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 enshrined a promise that the wanton indifference to workers’ lives — the days of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Farmington Mine explosion — would no longer be tolerated.  Establishing and enforcing Federal workplace safety and health standards has undoubtedly saved lives.

Despite the progress we have made cementing workplace protections into law, many workers still fear retaliation and retribution from management when they are asked to perform unsafe tasks or work in unsanitary conditions.  This fear forces many workers to remain silent, putting their lives and the lives of their colleagues at risk.  Alone, a single worker is often at the mercy of their boss, with little chance of rectifying an unsafe working environment created by employers who cut corners in the name of profit.  United, and protected by law from intimidation and coercion from their employers, workers can collectively demand improved working conditions.

In an economic system that puts too much power in the hands of wealthy corporations and Wall Street, unions give workers a way to band together, wield their full power, and stand on equal footing with management.  Unions not only protect the physical wellbeing of workers, but they also protect their financial security; they protect workers’ equity, too, helping ensure that workplaces are free from harassment and discrimination.  Over the past half century, we have seen the percentage of American workers represented by unions decline dramatically.  It is no surprise that during this same period, the average incomes of the bottom 90 percent of households in America have only risen by about 1 percent.  The decades-long assault we’ve seen on union organizing is a direct assault on the health and incomes of American workers.

My Administration is committed to protecting the lives, rights, and livelihoods of workers and reducing workplace accidents, injuries, and fatalities.  That is why I strongly encourage the Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021 — and why I included the PRO Act as part of my American Jobs Plan.  The decision to form a union should belong to workers alone — free from coercion, interference, or intimidation — and this important legislation would empower workers to exercise their right to organize, hold management accountable for violating the rights of their workers, and promote union elections that are free from interference from employers.

It is clear that we have not completely fulfilled our obligation to protect our Nation’s workers.  We must always remain vigilant against the notion that worker endangerment is simply a necessary cost of doing business.  And we must always protect the right of workers to unite and bargain for their own mutual aid or protection.

Today, we mourn each treasured life taken away on the job.  Those stricken by disease and fatal injuries as they keep America running deserve a dedicated day of grateful prayer and remembrance from the living.  Workers Memorial Day impels us to work for a future where no one should have to risk their life for a paycheck.  When our Nation fully recovers from the challenges we face today, it will be in large part because of the sacrifice and perseverance of our workers.  We commit to holding close their memory and investing in the health and safety of the colleagues they have left behind.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2021, as Workers Memorial Day.  I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs and ceremonies in memory of those killed or injured due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/27/a-proclamation-on-workers-memorial-day-2021/

USA: National COSH Report: Reporte “Riesgos Mortales, Fallas Costosas” / “Deadly Risks, Costly Failures” and other WMW resources

Families and Co-Workers Remember Those Lost on the Job for Workers’ Memorial Week

LOS ANGELES – Gathering at a virtual National Speak Out to observe Workers’ Memorial Week, safety activists said today that a new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) will save lives and must be “rapidly approved and rigorously enforced.”

National COSH also released today a new report, “Deadly Risks, Costly Failures.”  Key findings include:

Deadly Risks, Costly Failures” report.

Reporte “Riesgos Mortales, Fallas Costosas” 

Graphics to share on social media, in English and Spanish, in our 2021 WMW Toolkit.

  • Worker complaints to OSHA increased by 20% in 2020 when compared to 2019 — but safety inspections dropped by 50%
  • No public agency is monitoring workplace infections or fatalities from COVID-19.  The total number of those who have died after workplace exposure is untracked and unknown.
  • Black, Latinx, and Native people are more likely to get infected, more likely to die from the disease, and over-represented in the frontline occupations where workers are most at risk.

Deadly Risks, Costly Failures” is available at NationalCOSH.org.

USA: JLC virtual Workers Memorial Day Program – “Unions makes a difference”

 

 

Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, has been commemorated since 1970, to honor the victims of workplace injury and illness and to keep fighting for the promise of safe jobs for all workers.

This year, Workers Memorial Week contains a range of programs and activities across the map. The Jewish Labor Committee Invites you to a: VIRTUAL WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY PROGRAM

Marking the 50th Anniversary of OSHA – The Occupational Safety & Health Act

“UNIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE”

Thursday, April 29, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (EDT)

Speakers Include:

Marcy Goldstein-Gelb
Executive Director, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

Armando Elenes
Secretary-Treasurer, United Farm Workers

James Shackelford
Southeast Council, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union

Moderator:

Arieh Lebowitz
Executive Director, Jewish Labor Committee

To Register, click here: https://form.jotform.com/211055781180046

Worker’s Memorial Day, the anniversary of the day OSHA went into effect, serves to remember those workers who lost their lives on the job.  This year, we especially honor those thousands of front-line workers who fell victim to COVID-19.  Learn what we can do to strengthen OSHA, and provide workers a stronger voice to ensure their well-being.

140 West 31st Street, 2nd Floor / New York, NY 10001 / 212-477-0707 / f 212-477-1918

info@jewishlabor.org / www.jewishlaborcommittee.org / www.facebook.com/Jewish.Labor.Committee

USA: ADAO joins forces to “Mourn the Dead and Fight Like Hell for the Living”

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) joins individuals, trade unions, and organizations around the world for Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28, 2021, for those who have been injured or killed on the job; and for International Workers Day on May 1, 2021, commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement. For decades, unions like AFL-CIO have commemorated these important days with activities and awareness events around the world where people are uniting, taking a stand, and making sure their voices are heard. more

USA: Firme en carta antes del miércoles, 28 de abril – No más demoras – Emitir estándar temporal de emergencia ahora

La próxima semana es el 28 de abril, Día Conmemorativo de los Trabajadores Fallecidos. En su orden ejecutiva, el presidente Biden fijó el 15 de marzo como fecha límite para determinar la necesidad de protecciones de COVID para los trabajadores de emergencia.

La enfermedad y la muerte confirman la necesidad. Los trabajadores han esperado lo suficiente.

Por favor, firme esta carta, desarrollada por National COSH y Oxfam America, dirigida al presidente Biden y al secretario Walsh, instándolos a emitir un estándar temporal de emergencia de COVID antes del miércoles 28 de abril a las 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT. El formulario de firma está debajo de la carta.  (La versión en español estará lista para el lunes 26 de abril) Daremos a conocer la carta a la prensa el jueves 29 de abril.

  • Invite a sus colegas y redes a firmar la carta
  • Comparta un enlace a la carta en los eventos de Trabajadores Fallecidos, una acción apropiada, luchando por los vivos, mientras lloramos a los muertos.

COSH Nacional

USA: Sign-on letter by Wed, 4/28 – – No more delays – Issue Emergency Temporary Standard now

Next week is April 28, Workers Memorial Day.  In his executive order, President Biden set March 15 as the deadline to determine the need for emergency worker protections from COVID.

Sickness and death confirm the needWorkers have waited long enough. 

Please sign on to this letter, developed by National COSH and Oxfam America, to President Biden and Secretary Walsh, urging them to issue a COVID Emergency Temporary Standard by Wednesday, April 28 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT.  The sign on form is under the letter. (A Spanish version will be ready by Monday, 4/26). We will release the letter to the press on Thursday, 4/29.

  • Invite your colleagues and network to sign the letter.
  • Share a link to the letter at your Workers Memorial events – a fitting action — fighting for the living, as we mourn the dead.

National COSH

USA: Ceremonia del Día Conmemorativo de los Trabajadores Virtuales en Massachusetts

Si esta en Massachusetts, EEUU, sintonice a la ceremonia virtual de Worker’s Memorial Day

Páginas web massCOSH

USA: Virtual Worker’s Memorial Day ceremony in Massachusetts

If you’re in Massachusetts, USA, tune in to MassCOSH’s Worker’s Memorial Day ceremony. 28 April.

 

MassCOSH homepage