Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
President, American Federation of Teachers
on Workers Memorial Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This Saturday, we honor and remember those sisters and brothers killed and injured on the job, and renew our commitment to ensure worker safety.  Even though it has been more than 30 years since Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), thousands of workers are killed on the job each year, and millions more are injured or made ill. 

Consider this: 9 million public employees have no protection under the OSHA law; school employees suffer from high rates of work-related assaults and respiratory illnesses; and healthcare workers and other first responders lack basic occupational health protections they need to safely perform their jobs.  These statistics are given a human face by people like Tracee Binion, a public school teacher in Alabama and a former marathon runner, who is now asthmatic due to poor school building conditions. 

The American Federation of Teachers supports the Protecting America’s Workers Act, which would expand our federal safety laws to protect millions of additional workers, provide stronger deterrents and improve public accountability.   

This bill is needed to undo the woefully lax efforts of the Bush administration during the past six years.  Acting on behalf of corporate interests, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has rolled back and weakened protections, withdrawn dozens of important safety rules and favored voluntary compliance instead of more stringent enforcement.  

That is why a moment of silence is not enough.  We must continue to fight for strong safety and health protections for all workers and insist that the government do its duty to protect all its working citizens. 

# # # #