[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last month, during Workers' Memorial Day, 
we honored and remembered those killed or injured on the job. It is a 
day we reaffirm our commitment to workers and their families to do all 
we can to prevent these tragedies.
  Forty-seven years ago, when the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration was established, an estimated 14,000 workers were killed 
on the job. By 2016, the number was reduced to nearly 5,200. We have 
come a long way in worker safety, but when more than 14 people die on 
the job every day--and only 2.9 million work-related injuries are 
reported annually even though the real number could be as much as 7.4 
to 11.1 million--more work needs to be done. Clearly, the workplace 
remains too dangerous. We owe it to America's working men and women to 
ensure their safety, but too often, we are reminded of our failure to 
do so.
  I want to talk about Pamela Knight, from Dixon, in my home State of 
Illinois. An employee of the Illinois Department of Children and Family 
Services, Pamela was asked last September to check on the welfare of a 
child. When Pamela arrived, sensing a dangerous environment, she 
decided to remove the 2-year-old boy from the home and place him in 
protective custody. That is when the child's father knocked her to the 
floor, kicked her in the head, and continued beating Pamela's fractured 
skull. After this horrific incident, she was airlifted to a hospital in 
nearby Rockford, IL, where she underwent two surgeries, but it was too 
late. Pamela suffered permanent brain damage and passed away about four 
months after the attack. Pamela Knight was 59 years old.
  The job of our investigators and first responders, like Pamela, at 
the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is not easy. 
They are on the frontlines to those in crisis, but we can all agree, it 
should never be fatal. My heart goes out to Pamela's family, friends, 
colleagues, and all our public service workers protecting and serving 
the most vulnerable in our communities.
  The theme of this year's Workers' Memorial Day was ``Safe Jobs. Every 
Worker's Right.'' While the administration attempts to walk back many 
vital protections and existing safeguards for our workers, let's 
recommit ourselves in Congress to live up to those words and provide 
the right every worker deserves: a safe job. In doing so, we can honor 
the legacy of courageous Americans, like Pamela Knight, who simply did 
her job.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me in fighting for secure workplaces 
everywhere and once and for all, live up to the promise of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's mission to assure the 
dignity of a safe and healthy working condition for all Americans. With 
the right commitment, we can protect, strengthen, and advance the gains 
we have made over the last half century and make the safety of all 
workers a reality.

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