Workers Memorial Service & May Day Celebration

Please join us May 1, 2011 for a

WORKERS MEMORIAL SERVICE - 1:30–2:15 pm

Location: Howard Park Workers Memorial Site

(on the river walk) South Bend, IN 46617

WW SS Site

FORTY YEARS AGO, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. Unions and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections that have made jobs safer, saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented millions of workplace injuries and illnesses.

But our work is not done. Many job hazards are unregulated and uncontrolled. Some employers, like Massey Energy and BP, cut corners and violate the law, putting workers in serious danger and costing lives. Each year thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs.

We are proud to partner with The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) to host a Workers Memorial Service to remember laborers who lost their lives due to workplace hazards and honor heroes working to make workplaces safer.

This year's events will remember the 8 workplace hazard victims in our district (Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, Porter, Starke, and St. Joseph Counties) and the 112 labor workers total who died from Indiana in 2010 and honor 7 local safety heroes.

Local dignitaries from the city government will be participating in the events. The key note speaker will be the former Indiana Commissioner of Labor and current President of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, Nancy Guyott JD.

Families of lost loved ones and the general public are encouraged to attend.

& MAY DAY CELEBRATION - 12:30–4:00 pm

Come for live music, a Hay Market rendition by ND and IUSB Students, hot dogs, face painting, a balloon artist, and more!

Download the flyer for the May Day Celebration

Last year's Workers Memorial Service

On Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 more than 60 community and union members came to the AFL-CIO North Central Indiana Labor Council Memorial Service at the Worker's Memorial in Howard Park.

The event commenced with the presentation of colors by Boy Scout Troop #422. The service was led by Pastor Nancy Nichols from Broadway Christian Parish and proclamations were read by the mayors of South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart. Congressman Joe Donnelly's representative, Hodge Patel, gave a eulogy for the twelve laborers who died from this district and the 96 laborers who died from Indiana.

Representatives from CWA 4900, IBEW 153, IBT 364, NALC330, SJV Building & Construction Trades, and UAW 5 & 9 were present. Joe Alvarez, CWA statewide Safety Director, and Joe Carbone, CWA second Congressional Coordinator, were also present. Local representatives from United Way of St. Joseph County, Linda Rothrock and Dawn Chapla, AFL-CIO Labor Liaisons, spoke about the need for workplace safety every day--not just on Workers Memorial Day.

Workers Memorial 3 Workers Memorial 4 Workers Memorial 5