{"id":6268,"date":"2023-04-28T06:25:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T06:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=6268"},"modified":"2023-04-28T06:25:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T06:25:45","slug":"usa-a-proclamation-on-workers-memorial-day-2023-the-white-house-iwmd23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=6268","title":{"rendered":"USA: A Proclamation on Workers Memorial Day, 2023 | The White House – #iwmd23"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/strong>Nearly every law protecting workers\u2019 rights passed because unions fought for it. \u00a0That includes the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which took effect 51 years ago today, laying the groundwork for foundational health, safety, and whistleblower protections that continue to protect workers nationwide.<\/p>\n

A Proclamation on Workers Memorial Day,\u00a02023 <\/strong><\/p>\n

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    A record 160 million Americans get up and go to work every day to provide for their families, build their communities, and earn a piece of the American Dream. \u00a0But too many are exposed to unsafe working conditions, injured, or even killed in preventable accidents on the job. \u00a0And millions of firefighters, police officers, and other first responders put their lives on the line as a matter of course to keep the rest of us safe. \u00a0We need to have their backs. \u00a0On Workers Memorial Day, we honor every American worker who has sacrificed their own life or well-being; we stand with the unions that fight for them every day; and we recommit to protecting the fundamental right to a safe and healthy workplace.<\/p>\n

    I ran for office to restore the backbone of America \u2014 the middle class \u2014 and I am proud to be the most pro-labor President in history. \u00a0The middle class built this country, and union workers built the middle class. \u00a0Nearly every law protecting workers\u2019 rights passed because unions fought for it. \u00a0That includes the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which took effect 51 years ago today, laying the groundwork for foundational health, safety, and whistleblower protections that continue to protect workers nationwide.<\/p>\n

    My Administration has built on that legacy from the start, securing $200 million in American Rescue Plan funding to help keep workers safe and guarantee paid sick leave during the COVID\u201119 pandemic. \u00a0We protected pensions for millions of workers and retirees so that hardworking Americans can enjoy the healthy and stable retirement they worked their whole lives to secure. \u00a0The historic infrastructure, manufacturing, and clean energy laws that I signed as part of our Investing in America agenda are spurring billions of dollars in private investments and helping to create millions of good-paying jobs while requiring strong labor practices like prevailing wages, expanding Registered Apprenticeships, and protecting benefits for coal miners with black lung disease. \u00a0Throughout, we have stood against union busting and supported striking workers, who fight for better pay and safer conditions. \u00a0We have cracked down on wage theft and worker misclassification so employers cannot avoid paying fair wages or full benefits. \u00a0We are making it easier for workers to report abuses and unsafe working conditions, even if they are undocumented \u2014 improving safety, boosting pay, and raising standards for everyone.<\/p>\n

    At the same time, my Administration has strengthened workplace safety enforcement and training, hiring hundreds of new workplace inspectors and increasing site visits by 30 percent.\u00a0 We launched a program to inspect workplaces for extreme heat, which can harm construction, farm, factory, warehouse, delivery, and other workers. \u00a0We have invested more than $100 million in training farm workers to avoid injuries. \u00a0And we have fought for first responders by cracking down on toxic PFAS \u2014 the so-called \u201cforever chemicals\u201d that have been used for years to produce firefighting equipment and fire suppression agents, making firefighters sick \u2014 and funding research into PFAS alternatives. \u00a0I also signed bills qualifying more than 10,000 Federal firefighters for critical workers\u2019 compensation and extending tax-free retirement benefits to firefighters permanently disabled on the job and to families of late firefighters who faced trauma.\u00a0 My latest Budget would invest $430 million more to help Federal agencies promote safe worksites, protect benefits, increase penalties for labor violations, and end child labor for good. \u00a0Our Administration has worked across the board to expand access to health care through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, saving millions of families $800 a year each on premiums. \u00a0Today, more Americans have health insurance than ever before in our history.<\/p>\n

    We have more to do. \u00a0For starters, the United States is still one of the only countries in the world that does not guarantee paid sick leave, forcing too many workers to have to choose between a paycheck and caring for a sick or injured loved one or for themselves. \u00a0The Congress needs to pass sick days for all and a national paid leave program right away to change that.<\/p>\n

    A safe and healthy workplace is fundamental. \u00a0In the United\u00a0States of America, no one should have to risk their lives just to make a living. \u00a0Today, we honor those workers who put it all on the line, and we keep their families in our hearts. \u00a0We celebrate the whistleblowers and union organizers whose courage and persistence has saved countless lives, and we join them in standing up for all American workers, who are the best in the world.<\/p>\n

    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, 2023, as Workers Memorial Day.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two\u00a0thousand\u00a0twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United\u00a0States of\u00a0America the two\u00a0hundred and forty-seventh.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2023\/04\/27\/a-proclamation-on-workers-memorial-day-2023\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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