April 23, 2026
Workers Memorial Day: Our Pledge and Responsibility
On April 28, 2026, we will once again observe Workers Memorial Day. This solemn day is set aside to remember workers who lost their life on the job in the past year. Each year we stand with families to honor the memory of loved ones lost at work.
On April 28, 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was established, and that is why we observe April 28. This year marks the 55th anniversary of this important legislation. The purpose of OSHA is to provide guidelines and training to make workplaces safer. Since it’s inception, OSHA has worked toward the goal of reducing injuries and deaths on the job.
Having worker protection in place is the cornerstone of any workplace. While wages and  benefits are very important in labor our first job is to insure a safe workplace for our members.
Each one of our members represent a breadwinner for a family. Someone who goes off to work each day to provide. Ensuring a safe workplace is the first step in making sure that our members return home safely to their family at the end of the shift.
Safety standards in our contracts on average exceed the OSHA requirements. A recent study by the Institute for Work and Health found that union facilities on average have 25% fewer lost days due to workplace accidents than their nonunion counterparts. Our safety standards coupled with the education and training that we require makes a workplace safer. In addition, the standards that union contracts contain set help drive improvements in OSHA requirements for all workers, whether they are represented by a union or not.
We are all familiar with the 2025 Heritage Foundations Project and how Donald Trump has used this attack on working families to benefit the wealthy while taking from the working class. Project 2025 specifically called for reductions of OSHA inspectors for 30% and rolling back standards to benefit corporations.
In 2025 a "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review" was issued to stop any new standard from being issued to protect workers. Trump’s 2026 proposed budget includes an 8% reduction in funding with a plan to further cut staffing by 12.3%. As regulation and enforcement are reduced, workplaces become more dangerous and injuries and deaths escalate.
This Workers Memorial Day, I ask everyone to pause and remember those workers who died on the job over the past year. Each one has a story, a legacy and a family left behind. It is our responsibility, our DUTY, to fight for these families. Both inside and outside our membership. We must honor their memory and protect their survivors.
Famous labor organizer Mary “Mother” Jones is still well known almost a hundred years after her death. Mother Jones' words were, "pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living" and still rings true today. Her words issue the charge to those of us in labor to continue to fight for safe workplaces. Fight at the bargaining table, fight at the halls of Congress and fight at the ballot box.
This Workers Memorial Day, may we all “pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living”.
It is our pledge and our responsibility.
Who Are We? UAW!
UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith |
