Unions honor fallen tradespeople on Workers Memorial Day

Twin Cities Building Trades councils observed Workers Memorial Day with a ceremony on the Capitol grounds today, remembering union tradespeople who died from workplace injuries and illnesses over the past year and rededicating their organizations to the cause of safer worksites. “Every worker, regardless of their language, their gender, their skin color, their age or […]

Roslyn Robertson: ‘Every fatality crosses my desk, and my stomach just cringes’

Minnesota’s labor commissioner discusses the state’s efforts to promote safe workplaces and more in this Union Advocate interview.

Walz joins Building Trades unions in remembering fallen workers

In a ceremony today on the State Capitol grounds, Gov. Tim Walz and Labor Commissioner Roslyn Robertson joined members of Twin Cities Building Trades unions in paying tribute to workers who died in the past two years due to work-related injuries or illnesses.  Observed each year on April 28, Workers Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives on the job. In ceremonies across North America, union members pause […]

On Workers Memorial Day, unions still pleading for enforceable federal protections from deadly COVID-19

Making matters worse, Trump has over the last three years steadily chipped away at the number of federal OSHA investigators, now at its lowest point in the agency’s history.

Workers Memorial Day: Walz issues proclamation, unions plan remote observance

As unions pause to remember their fallen members, COVID-19 has given new urgency to their fight for worker safety.

U.S. workplace fatalities on the rise, unions warn

Minnesota, according to an AFL-CIO report, had the 31st highest rate of workplace deaths among states in 2016.

Ken Peterson: Safety legislation offers lesson in policy over party

April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, meant to remember those who were killed at work and to advocate for improved worker safety and health. The day is also a useful reminder that elected representatives don’t need to be locked in acrimony and positional politics and that they can help. Though the pain is great with […]

Ken Peterson: On Workers Memorial Day we remember the dead, fight for the living

Four workers from St. Louis will not be alive to observe Workers Memorial Day on April 28 this year. Their unnecessary deaths earlier in the month are a stark reminder that despite calls for cutting back government regulations, we cannot allow workplace safety standards or enforcement to be reduced. At about 7:30 a.m., Monday, April […]

With support from bonding bill, MN Workers Memorial Garden nears completion

The $1 billion package of public infrastructure investments approved by state lawmakers earlier this year includes $250,000 for a mural and other improvements that will complete the Minnesota Workers Memorial Garden in St. Paul. Construction of the memorial, located near the intersection of 12th and Cedar in the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds, wrapped […]

Ken Peterson: Job safety and Workers Memorial Day

Work should be less dangerous. Fewer people should die or be injured at work. That’s why Canadian labor unions started the first Workers Memorial Day in 1985. They picked April 28 because it was the date Canada’s first workers’ compensation law was passed in 1914. Recognizing the significance of what the Canadians had begun, U.S. […]