L&I Honors 84 at Worker's Memorial Day Ceremony
The agency reports that recent data shows construction, agriculture, logging, and jobs that require driving are among the most hazardous jobs for Washington workers, and that falls continue to be a leading cause of workers' deaths. Six work-related deaths in 2015 were homicides.
The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) and numerous guests honored 84 workers who died from work-related causes in 2015, including six firefighters, five loggers, and nine construction workers, during an April 28 ceremony at L&I's Tumwater headquarters. This annual ceremony takes place on Worker's Memorial Day, when workers killed on the job are honored in many states and around the world.
The men and women being remembered in the Tumwater ceremony range in age from 20 to 92 and did all types of work, including retail clerk, business owner, police officer, pilot, ranch hand, and taxi driver, according to the agency.
It reports that recent data shows construction, agriculture, logging, and jobs that require driving are among the most hazardous jobs for Washington workers, and that falls continue to be a leading cause of workers' deaths. Six work-related deaths in 2015 were homicides.
"Worker Memorial Day is a somber reminder that there's still much more to do to make sure every worker in Washington returns home safely at the end of the day," said L&I Director Joel Sacks. "We honor those who died by pledging to do everything in our power to prevent these tragedies from being repeated."
During the early 2000s, job-related deaths in the state often numbered more than 100 annually. Some of the 84 workers who will be remembered during the ceremony this year died from long-term lung and respiratory disease, and 14 of them died before 2015 but their deaths weren't included in previous ceremonies.
Parents, spouses, children, and other relatives of people who died from a work-related illness or injury were expected to attend, and Gov. Jay Inslee was scheduled to take part, along with representatives of the Association of Washington Business, the Washington State Labor Council and the Washington Self-Insurers Association.