Over 50 years ago on April 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted, promising all workers the right to a safe job. We now recognize this significant date as Workers Memorial Day.

On Dec. 29, 1970, President Nixon signed the OSH Act passed by Congress and it went into effect on April 28, 1971. This Act also created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA.

This law was won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action to protect working people. Unions and our allies have continued to fight hard to make that promise a reality – winning protections that have made jobs safer and have prevented millions of workplace injuries and illnesses.

But our work is not done. According to the AFL-CIO, each day more than 340 workers are killed and more then 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of preventable hazardous conditions. Many hazards are still unregulated and uncontrolled. Some employers cut corners and violate the law, and dangerous work is contracted out. Workers who report jobs hazards or job injuries are disciplined and even fired. Workers continue to loss their lives on the job, become injured or made ill.

Every year on Workers Memorial Day, the United Steelworkers and USW Tony Mazzocchi Center (TMC) remember those who lost their lives on the job while also renewing our promise to fight for safer, healthier workplaces.

Please join us in commemorating Workers Memorial Day. The USW will hold an event on Friday, April 26 at 9:30 a.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the USW International headquarters. Then, the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council AFL-CIO will host an event on Monday, April 29 at 12 p.m. in Market Square in Pittsburgh. Click here to find an event near you, or to submit an event.

Graphics and details courest of the AFL-CIO.