[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24525-24526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10055]



[[Page 24523]]

Vol. 79

Wednesday,

No. 83

April 30, 2014

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 9107--Workers Memorial Day, 2014
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  Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 83 / Wednesday, April 30, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 24525]]

                Proclamation 9107 of April 25, 2014

                
Workers Memorial Day, 2014

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America is built on the promise of opportunity. We 
                believe that everyone should have a chance to succeed, 
                that what matters is the strength of our work ethic, 
                the scope of our dreams, and our willingness to take 
                responsibility for ourselves and each other. Yet each 
                year, workplace illness and injury threaten that 
                promise for millions of Americans, and even more 
                tragically, thousands die on the job. This is 
                unacceptable. On Workers Memorial Day, we honor those 
                we have lost, and in their memory, affirm everyone's 
                right to a safe workplace.

                With grit and determination, the American labor force 
                has propelled our Nation through times of hardship and 
                war, and it laid the foundation for tremendous economic 
                growth. Workers risked life and limb to turn the gears 
                of the Industrial Revolution, raise our first 
                skyscrapers, and lay railroad track that connected our 
                country from coast to coast. The injured, as well as 
                families of the dead, received little or no 
                compensation.

                It was only after decades of organizing, unionizing, 
                and public pressure that workers won many of the rights 
                we take for granted today. Finally, with the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Federal 
                Government required employers to provide basic safety 
                equipment. Just 1 year prior, the Federal Coal Mine 
                Health and Safety Act of 1969 established comprehensive 
                safety and health standards for coal mines, increased 
                Federal enforcement powers, and provided compensation 
                to miners with black lung.

                My Administration remains dedicated to building on this 
                progress. We are improving standards to protect workers 
                from black lung and reduce their exposure to dangerous 
                substances. We are helping employers provide safe 
                workplaces and holding those who risk workers' lives 
                and health accountable. And we are empowering workers 
                with information so they can stay safe on the job.

                We must never accept that injury, illness, or death is 
                the cost of doing business. Workers are the backbone of 
                our economy, and no one's prosperity should come at the 
                expense of their safety. Today, let us celebrate our 
                workers by upholding their basic right to clock out and 
                return home at the end of each shift.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2014, as 
                Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to 
                participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of 
                those killed or injured due to unsafe working 
                conditions.

[[Page 24526]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2014-10055
Filed 4-29-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F4