TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Sunday afternoon, The Greater Terre Haute Branch of the NAACP, the Central Wabash Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Eugene V. Debs Museum hosted a public event for Workers Memorial Day.
The program featured music, remarks from members of the community and union leaders, as well as a reading of the names of local workers who died from workplace injuries. It also included proclamations from the Mayor’s Office, the Vigo County Council, and the Terre Haute City Council. Workers Memorial Day was established by the AFL-CIO in 1989, to recognize and honor the thousands of workers who die on the job each year.
Todd Thacker with the I.B.E.W Local 725, said that this is event is to recognize those workers.
“You know I spent my life and my career, and I’m retired now. And those people who came before us are the one who set forth some of the benefits that I was able to enjoy. And so I’m just trying to do the same thing, just leave it a little better than I found it,” Thacker said.
According to the news release, more than 5,000 workers die on the job per year in the United States. Safety Director for the I.B.E.W 725 Eric Biernbaum said that worker safety is very important in his industry.
“The mortality rate was one in two and so now the mortality rate is much, much greater than that with electricians. And so, but it’s always been something that’s at the forefront of our trade,” Biernbaum said.
Workers Memorial Day also celebrates the start of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA.
