Events Nationwide Honor Workers Who Lost Their Lives on the Job

http://nhlabornews.com/2014/04/events-nationwide-honor-workers-who-lost-their-lives-on-the-job/

New National Data Shows More Than 4,600 Deaths Due to Injuries;

Regional Reports on Workplace Deaths Released in

CA, MA, NY, TN, WY and Houston TX

SAN DIEGO,CA – Today marks the beginning of Workers’ Memorial Week. Events across the United States and across the globe will honor workers who have lost their lives on the job, and continue the fight for safe working conditions.

“Today, we honor the dead and fight for the living,” said Jessica Martinez, deputy director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “We know that many of the injuries and illnesses that are killing American workers can be prevented. Employers must be held accountable when they fail to observe well-established well established safety practices. And workers must have the education, training, resources and protection against retaliation they need to stand up for workplace safety.”

Resources to highlight the importance of Workers’ Memorial Week include:

Facts and figures:

New, higher figure for U.S. Workplace Deaths: 4,628 workers died on the job due to workplace injuries in 2012, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This updates preliminary figures released in August, 2013.
50,000+ Deaths on the job due to workplace illnesses: More than ten times as many workers die each year from long-term exposure than from acute injuries. One recent estimate, by University of California – Davis economist J. Paul Leigh in 2011, estimates more than 53,000 deaths in 2007 from respiratory, cardiovascular and renal diseases, cancer and other conditions

FULL story at link.