Six UAW members died on the job in 2008.
They were an electrician, a maintenance mechanic, a warehouse worker, a road worker, truck driver and diesetter. They were just doing their jobs when tragedy struck.
They were from Michigan, Ohio and Puerto Rico. Some were husbands and fathers. All had loved ones who grieve and miss them.
Every incident had something that health and safety professionals can point to as a contributing cause to the fatal accidents: arc fault explosions, working alone, careless motorists, unguarded and poorly lit loading docks, blind spots.
Every one of these deaths could have been avoided. The UAW Health and Safety Department investigates all fatalities in UAW-represented workplaces and also investigates incidents that were "near misses" and other workplace health and safety issues such as ergonomics and dangerous chemical exposures.
One of the benefits of being in a union is having a highly trained team of professionals working to protect your well-being on the job.
"Health and safety is never an afterthought when UAW bargaining teams enter negotiations," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said. "Our health and safety professionals always look at the best practices as a starting point and try to improve them."
Workers Memorial Day is April 28. (UAW Poster, 382 KB) More than 5,800 workers were killed by job injuries in 2007, according to the AFL-CIO. Another 50,000 to 60,000 died from occupational diseases, including more than 10,000 deaths from asbestos-related diseases. Millions more workers were injured.
The AFL-CIO has materials to help educate workers about Workers Memorial Day and workplace hazards.
"Having an administration in Washington that will actively enforce workplace health and safety standards should help reduce these numbers," Gettelfinger said. "But everyone must do their part by wearing proper protective equipment and never taking shortcuts in health and safety. Our first commitment must be to arrive home in the same condition as when we reported for work."