(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Monday, April 28th, 2014, U.S. Senator Patty Murray released the following statement commemorating Workers Memorial Day, a day to honor men and women who died on the job.
“I would like to offer my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the families and friends who have lost loved ones to workplace tragedies over the past year. While we have made progress in reducing workplace injuries and deaths, we still have a long way to go.
“Workers should feel confident that while they are doing their jobs, their employers are doing everything possible to keep them safe. We must remain vigilant to ensure that tragedies such as the Anacortes Tesoro refinery explosion, which happened four years ago this month and took the lives of seven people, are prevented in the future. I am confident that employers can continue to add jobs and offer economic opportunity in our local communities without compromising the safety of their employees.
“I will continue to fight to improve safety conditions for workers and to strengthen enforcement procedures against companies that fail to meet their obligation to protect their workers.”
4,383 workers were killed on the job in 2012– on average, more than 84 a week or nearly 12 deaths every day. In 2010, an estimated 3.9 million workers in private industry and state and local government had a nonfatal occupational injury or illness. A 2012 White Paper published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration stated that every year more than 4.1 million workers suffer a serious job-related injury or illness.
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