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GM, Delphi Join CWA to Mark Workers' Memorial Day
Two IUE-CWA employers set an example for other companies on Workers Memorial Day, joining the union in its remembrances and commitment to job safety.
At nine Delphi and GM plants that employ 18,000 IUE-CWA members, the companies participated in the April 28 activities by flying flags at half-mast, joining workers in a moment of silence and showing a well received safety video, "What Is Really Important," to employees.
"Workers Memorial Day is a time to reflect about what is really important - coming home to family and loved ones at the end of the workday. As you pause to think about workplace safety, please consider what you can do everyday to help create a safer working environment," Jim Clark, chairman of the IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board, said in a brochure distributed to Delphi workers.
In the same flyer, Kevin Butler, Delphi's vice present of human resources said, "Preventing injuries and fatalities in the workplace takes constant vigilance, a willingness to speak up about safe practices and a sense of responsibility for ourselves and our coworkers."
CWA, UAW and both GM and Delphi have long worked together to make safety their top priority, said Henry Reichard, director of safety and health for the conference board. "In the 1980s, there began to be a cultural change, where safety was brought to the forefront," he said. "We have really shifted our focus from reaction to prevention."
CWA locals joined unions across the country on Workers' Memorial Day and throughout the week to honor fallen workers with ceremonies, red ribbons and pledges to continue their work to prevent job-related deaths and injuries.
A new AFL-CIO report says more than 270,000 workers likely would have been killed on the job over the last three decades if workers and their unions had not fought to win passage of the landmark Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other important workplace safety laws. Still, 5,900 workers died from on-the-job injuries and another 5.2 million were hurt or made ill in 2001.
At nine Delphi and GM plants that employ 18,000 IUE-CWA members, the companies participated in the April 28 activities by flying flags at half-mast, joining workers in a moment of silence and showing a well received safety video, "What Is Really Important," to employees.
"Workers Memorial Day is a time to reflect about what is really important - coming home to family and loved ones at the end of the workday. As you pause to think about workplace safety, please consider what you can do everyday to help create a safer working environment," Jim Clark, chairman of the IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board, said in a brochure distributed to Delphi workers.
In the same flyer, Kevin Butler, Delphi's vice present of human resources said, "Preventing injuries and fatalities in the workplace takes constant vigilance, a willingness to speak up about safe practices and a sense of responsibility for ourselves and our coworkers."
CWA, UAW and both GM and Delphi have long worked together to make safety their top priority, said Henry Reichard, director of safety and health for the conference board. "In the 1980s, there began to be a cultural change, where safety was brought to the forefront," he said. "We have really shifted our focus from reaction to prevention."
CWA locals joined unions across the country on Workers' Memorial Day and throughout the week to honor fallen workers with ceremonies, red ribbons and pledges to continue their work to prevent job-related deaths and injuries.
A new AFL-CIO report says more than 270,000 workers likely would have been killed on the job over the last three decades if workers and their unions had not fought to win passage of the landmark Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other important workplace safety laws. Still, 5,900 workers died from on-the-job injuries and another 5.2 million were hurt or made ill in 2001.