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Honoring Fallen Workers
2002 Workers Memorial Day Pays Special Tribute to Sept. 11 Victims
As CWA members gathered around the country in April to honor workers who died on the job over the last year, their hearts were heavier than usual.
This year, they not only remembered workers from their communities who suffered fatal job-related accidents or illnesses, they remembered thousands who perished Sept. 11 — workers at the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, the firefighters and police officers who rushed to rescue them and the
victims aboard the doomed flights.
In New York City, CWA members from area locals joined hundreds of workers from other unions on Friday, April 26, for a day of remembrance. It started at 9 a.m., when the president of the city’s Central Labor Council rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. That was followed by a memorial service at Trinity Church, where AFL-CIO President John Sweeney spoke. Afterwards, led by bagpipers, the crowd walked to the trade center site and observed a moment of silence at noon, followed by speeches.
“It was a different feel from other Workers Memorial Days, because you were there at the site and it represented many hundreds of workers who were killed on a single day,” said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, coordinator of health and safety programs in District 1. “But the larger message was that this is something that affects workers every day of every year. The fight for safety is a continuous battle.”
In Suffolk County on New York’s Long Island, members of CWA Local 1108 and other unions attended an annual ceremony. As they do each year, they laid a wreath and lit candles while bagpipers played at a workers’ monument at the state office building in Hauppauge, said Donna Edwardsen, Local 1108 chief steward and a member of the Long Island Workers’ Memorial Committee.
But this year when the list of names of those lost was read it included nine members of the Civil Service Employees Association who died at the trade center. “We have a new headstone this year by the memorial,” Edwardsen said. “It’s something especially for the victims of Sept. 11. It will always be there in remembrance.”
The AFL-CIO first held Workers Memorial Day activities in 1989. The day honors the 6,000 workers who are killed each year on the job and another 50,000 workers who die annually from illnesses related to their work. In 2001, terrorism was added to the list of risks.
“Our goal every day is to ensure that workers are safe at work,” said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, whose office oversees health and safety programs. “Workers Memorial Day helps us come together and sharply focus on our mission. The tragic events of Sept. 11 have raised concerns about safety and security at work, and we must be vigilant in addressing those issues. But it’s critical, too, that we never lose sight of the day-to-day dangers that workers face on the job.”
The day of remembrance falls on April 28, the anniversary of the creation of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, although many unions sponsor events throughout the week. CWA locals across the country recognized the day in many different ways. Some had picnics, including Local 2205 in Newport News, Va. Rain kept the turnout to just over 50, but President Jerry Rogers said it was a good chance for people to get to know each and share their feelings about Sept. 11 and the workers who died, including 14 people in the CWA family.
“A lot of people didn’t realize we had lost those CWA members, so we thought it would be a good idea to get everybody together and let them know how important it was to support these families,” Rogers said.
In Pittsfield, Mass., IUE-CWA Local 81255 and other members of the Berkshire Central Labor Council held an annual ceremony at a memorial gravestone at the county Building Trades Hall. The marker is near the General Electric and General Dynamics plants that employ Local 81255 members.
“Every year we put a wreath on the gravestone,” said Daniel Walsh, the local’s business agent. “This year, we had a moment of silence and the president of the labor council said a few words about Sept. 11.” The morning event, which began with a breakfast, also featured a bagpiper and speakers who included the mayor of Pittsfield, the head of the local firefighters’ union and a state representative, he said.
Across the country in Olympia, Wash., members of Local 7810 helped line the main streets of the state’s capital city with 1,500 flags: American flags, state and county flags and more that the local and other groups have helped purchase.
Local President Bill Jenkins said workers using Qwest and Puget Power bucket trucks put up the flags, mostly on light poles to recognize Workers Memorial Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and other holidays. “Any day having to do with labor, we put them up,” he said. “We’ve been doing it for about five years, and they stay up for about a week each time.”
In Syracuse, N.Y., CWA Locals 1152 and 1123 were among 20 unions with tables at a workplace safety education fair at a shopping mall. The fair included a display about the victims of Sept. 11 and a public reading of the names of more than 30 area workers who died of job-related causes last year.
“We had a really great reaction from the public,” said Louise DeJohn of 1123 who serves as the AFL-CIO’s community services liaison to the Greater Syracuse Labor Council. “Because we were in the mall we were able to reach many more people than we normally do with Workers Memorial Day activities.”
In Ann Arbor, Mich., Local 4011 served hot dog lunches at three SBC/Ameritech and AT&T work sites and distributed “Stop the Pain” stickers. In Bismarck, N.D., members of Local 7301 participated with their Central Labor Committee to remember eight workers killed in North Dakota in 2001. Featured speakers included a firefighter, police officer and postal worker.
In Norcross, Ga., Local 3263 continued with its annual Workers Memorial Day tradition of handing out worker safety flyers and yellow ribbons for members and other workers at Optical Fiber Solutions to wear on the job. Local 1051 in Fairhaven, Mass., also handed out flyers and stickers and held a moment of silence for fallen workers. Locals in West Virginia attended an AFL-CIO-sponsored ceremony at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy.
And in Springfield, Mo., members of Local 6301 planted memorial trees, as they have for several years. “Our members really like the new tradition and now they know what and when Workers’ Memorial Day is,” local President Sandy Grogan said.
As CWA members gathered around the country in April to honor workers who died on the job over the last year, their hearts were heavier than usual.
This year, they not only remembered workers from their communities who suffered fatal job-related accidents or illnesses, they remembered thousands who perished Sept. 11 — workers at the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, the firefighters and police officers who rushed to rescue them and the
victims aboard the doomed flights.
In New York City, CWA members from area locals joined hundreds of workers from other unions on Friday, April 26, for a day of remembrance. It started at 9 a.m., when the president of the city’s Central Labor Council rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. That was followed by a memorial service at Trinity Church, where AFL-CIO President John Sweeney spoke. Afterwards, led by bagpipers, the crowd walked to the trade center site and observed a moment of silence at noon, followed by speeches.
“It was a different feel from other Workers Memorial Days, because you were there at the site and it represented many hundreds of workers who were killed on a single day,” said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, coordinator of health and safety programs in District 1. “But the larger message was that this is something that affects workers every day of every year. The fight for safety is a continuous battle.”
In Suffolk County on New York’s Long Island, members of CWA Local 1108 and other unions attended an annual ceremony. As they do each year, they laid a wreath and lit candles while bagpipers played at a workers’ monument at the state office building in Hauppauge, said Donna Edwardsen, Local 1108 chief steward and a member of the Long Island Workers’ Memorial Committee.
But this year when the list of names of those lost was read it included nine members of the Civil Service Employees Association who died at the trade center. “We have a new headstone this year by the memorial,” Edwardsen said. “It’s something especially for the victims of Sept. 11. It will always be there in remembrance.”
The AFL-CIO first held Workers Memorial Day activities in 1989. The day honors the 6,000 workers who are killed each year on the job and another 50,000 workers who die annually from illnesses related to their work. In 2001, terrorism was added to the list of risks.
“Our goal every day is to ensure that workers are safe at work,” said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, whose office oversees health and safety programs. “Workers Memorial Day helps us come together and sharply focus on our mission. The tragic events of Sept. 11 have raised concerns about safety and security at work, and we must be vigilant in addressing those issues. But it’s critical, too, that we never lose sight of the day-to-day dangers that workers face on the job.”
The day of remembrance falls on April 28, the anniversary of the creation of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, although many unions sponsor events throughout the week. CWA locals across the country recognized the day in many different ways. Some had picnics, including Local 2205 in Newport News, Va. Rain kept the turnout to just over 50, but President Jerry Rogers said it was a good chance for people to get to know each and share their feelings about Sept. 11 and the workers who died, including 14 people in the CWA family.
“A lot of people didn’t realize we had lost those CWA members, so we thought it would be a good idea to get everybody together and let them know how important it was to support these families,” Rogers said.
In Pittsfield, Mass., IUE-CWA Local 81255 and other members of the Berkshire Central Labor Council held an annual ceremony at a memorial gravestone at the county Building Trades Hall. The marker is near the General Electric and General Dynamics plants that employ Local 81255 members.
“Every year we put a wreath on the gravestone,” said Daniel Walsh, the local’s business agent. “This year, we had a moment of silence and the president of the labor council said a few words about Sept. 11.” The morning event, which began with a breakfast, also featured a bagpiper and speakers who included the mayor of Pittsfield, the head of the local firefighters’ union and a state representative, he said.
Across the country in Olympia, Wash., members of Local 7810 helped line the main streets of the state’s capital city with 1,500 flags: American flags, state and county flags and more that the local and other groups have helped purchase.
Local President Bill Jenkins said workers using Qwest and Puget Power bucket trucks put up the flags, mostly on light poles to recognize Workers Memorial Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and other holidays. “Any day having to do with labor, we put them up,” he said. “We’ve been doing it for about five years, and they stay up for about a week each time.”
In Syracuse, N.Y., CWA Locals 1152 and 1123 were among 20 unions with tables at a workplace safety education fair at a shopping mall. The fair included a display about the victims of Sept. 11 and a public reading of the names of more than 30 area workers who died of job-related causes last year.
“We had a really great reaction from the public,” said Louise DeJohn of 1123 who serves as the AFL-CIO’s community services liaison to the Greater Syracuse Labor Council. “Because we were in the mall we were able to reach many more people than we normally do with Workers Memorial Day activities.”
In Ann Arbor, Mich., Local 4011 served hot dog lunches at three SBC/Ameritech and AT&T work sites and distributed “Stop the Pain” stickers. In Bismarck, N.D., members of Local 7301 participated with their Central Labor Committee to remember eight workers killed in North Dakota in 2001. Featured speakers included a firefighter, police officer and postal worker.
In Norcross, Ga., Local 3263 continued with its annual Workers Memorial Day tradition of handing out worker safety flyers and yellow ribbons for members and other workers at Optical Fiber Solutions to wear on the job. Local 1051 in Fairhaven, Mass., also handed out flyers and stickers and held a moment of silence for fallen workers. Locals in West Virginia attended an AFL-CIO-sponsored ceremony at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy.
And in Springfield, Mo., members of Local 6301 planted memorial trees, as they have for several years. “Our members really like the new tradition and now they know what and when Workers’ Memorial Day is,” local President Sandy Grogan said.