[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LINDA T. SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2009

  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today in 
honor of Workers' Memorial Day. Every day, working people across our 
Nation are putting their lives on the line, just by getting up and 
going to work. In a perennially underreported tragedy, more than 5,000 
Americans die each year on the job, and millions more experience 
occupational injuries and illnesses.
  That means about 16 workers in the U.S. die each day at work. And 
those who die are not only those in professions seen as dangerous, like 
law enforcement or firefighting--they are also mechanics, store clerks, 
bus drivers, and landscapers. And the deaths are often close to home. 
Earlier this month, a 38-year-old construction worker was killed back 
home in the southern Los Angeles area when a garage collapsed on him 
while he worked on a remodeling project.
  To honor those who have died, and to draw attention about the need 
for better enforcement of our workplace health and safety laws, I join 
with Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Rep. Bruce Braley today to 
introduce a resolution recognizing the importance of Workers' Memorial 
Day.
  Workers' Memorial Day is a reminder that each death is a life cut 
short--a worker who left behind a family and friends.
  I encourage everyone to take a moment today to recognize the needless 
sacrifice that these workers' and their families made this year and in 
years past.
  Going to work should not be a life and death proposition. Workers' 
Memorial Day is a reminder that we can do better.

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