[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 55 (Monday, May 6, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3896-S3897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          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.

[[Page S3897]]

  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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