2011 Workers Memorial Day

One hundred years ago, 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, burned to death behind locked doors at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City.

We'd like to think that something so terrible could never happen today, but over the past year a series of major workplace tragedies proved me wrong. By now the names are infamous -- the BP oil spill that killed 11 oil rig workers and caused an economic disaster for the Gulf Coast, the Massey Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia that claimed 29 lives.

It's also tempting to think that these disasters could never happen to us -- and in fact, deaths in the workplace have fallen over the past 10 years.

But unsafe working conditions still kill 12 people every day in our country. Here in Missouri, 96 workers lost their lives last year while another 111,413 First Reports of Injury were filed, in addition to 1,126 claims for occupational diseases. And, as Republicans in Congress threaten to slash federal funding for workplace safety and roll back protections, that number will only increase.

Every April 28, Workers Memorial Day, working families across the country remember the workers who were killed or injured at work and renew the struggle for safe workplaces. This year, as we mark the 40th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, let's honor the fallen by asking our legislators to ensure that another tragedy won't happen here.

MARK BAKER, president,

Southeast Missouri Central Labor Council, Jackson