[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               FIGHT FOR THE LIVING: WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY

                                 ______


                       HON. GEORGE E. BROWN, JR.

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 1994

  Mr. BROWN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to observe Workers 
Memorial Day in remembrance of workers who have suffered and died on 
the job and to renew our commitment to preventing these tragedies in 
the future. This year marks the AFL-CIO's sixth observance of Workers 
Memorial Day.
  April 28, has been chosen by the unions of the AFL-CIO because it is 
the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In addition 
to paying tribute to workers who have been victims of unsafe working 
conditions, this year unions will have a real opportunity to win 
changes in the OSHA law that will give workers greater rights and 
protections.
  The United States now has the highest rate of job injuries and 
illnesses in more than a decade, and while much progress has been made 
in protecting American workers, still, every year 10,000 American 
workers die from job-related injuries. In 1992, in my own State of 
California, there were 551 workplace fatalities, an average of 4.4 
fatalities per 100,000 workers.\1\ Moreover, workplace injuries are 
costing American business $83 billion a year, according to a 1989 Rand 
Corp. study. These statistics show that it is time for Congress to act 
again.
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     \1\Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational 
     Injuries, 1992.
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  On Workers Memorial Day, trade unionists can take action to raise 
public awareness about the epidemic of workplace injuries and illnesses 
and organize support for passage of comprehensive OSHA reform 
legislation now pending before Congress. This bill is the first major 
revision of OSHA since it was established in 1970.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in observing 
Workers Memorial Day and supporting the OSHA reform legislation.

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