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“WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S3896-S3897 on May 6, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, today we highlight the recent observance of April 28 as Workers Memorial Day. Workers Memorial Day recognizes workers who have been killed or injured in the workplace over the past year. The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Every year, many communities and businesses join together to recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job.
In honor of Workers Memorial Day, I want to relate a story about one person in Alabama that has truly made a difference in improving worker safety. Each year since 1995, the Fairhope, Alabama-based FIGHT Project, Families in Grief Hold Together, FIGHT, holds a memorial service on Workers Memorial Day for people who die in work-related accidents in south Alabama. The FIGHT Project is led by Mr. Ron Hayes. Mr. Hayes lost his 19-year-old son Patrick due to a workplace accident. Patrick was walking across a corn elevator filled with grain when he was pulled down into the grain and suffocated. Through his tireless efforts, Mr. Hayes, prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, to revise its standard for protecting almost 250,000 workers at 24,000 grain elevators and mills. Mr. Hayes not only spent considerable time trying to determine the cause of his son's accident, but quit his job to become an advocate of workplace safety. He organized the non-profit organization, the FIGHT Project, to provide guidance to families who have lost a loved one in a workplace accident. Mr. Hayes has since become a expert on work-related deaths, illnesses and injuries. Mr. Hayes has spent countless hours trying to ensure safe working environments for America's workers. He has also assisted hundreds of families who have lost love ones, including working closely with the families of the 13 Jim Walters miners who were killed in Brookwood, AL, last year. He has been an invaluable resource to me as I serve on the Health, Education, Labor, and pensions Committee, which oversees OSHA.
Mr. Hayes was recently appointed by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, NACOSH. NACOSH was established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to advise the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services on Occupational Safety and Health Programs and Policies. Mr. Hayes is working with OSHA and the rest of the Department of Labor to improve worker safety around that nation.
According to OSHA, there are a disproportionately high number of work-related deaths suffered by non-English speaking workers. On Workers Memorial Day, Mr. John Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, announced that the agency will soon begin to collect data on country of origin and English language capability for all workers involved in fatality or other serious accident investigations. The agency will also for the first time begin to collect site-specific information on construction projects where many immigrants and other workers die every year. The new data collection will enable OSHA to analyze language and country of origin information to determine what role language barriers and other risk factors play in fatalities and other workplace accidents. The agency will then use this data to take steps to improve safety for these workers.
I want to point out that in commemoration of Worker Memorial Day, Mr. Henshaw also announced that, effective immediately, he will write personally to the families of workers killed on the job to express OSHA's sorrow for the loss. Working with Mr. Hayes over the last few years, I know how important it is to the victim's families that the Government is aware of the problem and working to do everything possible to prevent more workers from dying or being injured on the job. I would like to reiterate Mr. Hayes' recent statement about the importance of reducing the accident and injury rate to the point where this type of initiative is not needed at all. I believe Secretary Chao and Mr. Henshaw are committed to this goal and I stand ready to aid their efforts.
We know that many businesses are working hard and successfully to improve worker safety. Some Alabama companies have recently been recognized by OSHA as achieving successful results in reducing injuries. Since 1982, OSHA has been recognizing American work sites that have exemplary safety records and show continued commitment to workplace safety and health. Sites meeting the Voluntary Protection Program standards typically experience injury and illness rates 53 percent below the industry average. Three sites in Alabama: ATOFINA Chemicals Inc. in Axis, AL; Occidental Chemical Corporation in Mobile, AL; and United Space Alliance, LLC Huntsville Operations in Huntsville, AL, were recognized by OSHA as Star sites for their achievements in worker safety. These successes were achieved with voluntary programs, teamwork and determination.
Workers Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to remember the workers who have lost their lives and highlight these important worker safety issues. The more attention we give the subject and the more we work together the better chance we have to be successful in reducing and then eventually eliminating workplace injuries.
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