Pictured Above: Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Anna Horton (seated on the bench) sits silently while several individuals who attended the 19th Annual Workers Memorial Day observance - which was held Saturday at the New York State Power Authority's Reservoir Park - pay their respects at the Workers Memorial Monument.  (WNYLaborToday.com Photo)

Editor's Note: WNYLaborToday.com's Labor News Video Crew also covered the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council's Annual Workers Memorial Day observance in Niagara Falls.  Our video report can now be viewed in the second video cube from the left - under the heading, WNY Labor News - that's located in the middle of our Front/Home Page.

(NIAGARA FALLS) - The names of two Union-represented Niagara County Sheriff's Department deputies were added to the Workers Memorial Monument during a ceremony held Saturday to mark the 19th annual Workers Memorial Day observance by the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council at the New York State Power Authority's Reservoir Park.

The names of 52 workers are now chiseled into the Workers Memorial Monument, many of whom died on the job and were represented by a number of Unions affiliated with the Niagara-Orleans Central Labor Council, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Mine Workers of America, the Laborers Union, the United Steelworkers, the Operating Engineers, the Communication Workers of America, the United Auto Workers, the Police Benevolent Association, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Honored Saturday were United Steelworkers-Represented Niagara County Sheriff's Deputies Jeffrey Incardona and Jeffrey Juron.  His voice cracking with emotion, Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour paused several times while honoring his fallen deputies, describing both as "devoted parents whose infectious smiles will always be remembered."

During a ceremony held at the Workers Memorial Monument before a number of representatives from the Niagara County Union Community, area Union Leaders and elected officials spoke, a roll call of the names of the 52 deceased workers were individually read by 84-year-old Joe Costanzo, a retired member of U.A. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 22, and retired Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Council Communications Director Earl Frampton.

Also chiseled into the black marble on one of the walls of the Workers Memorial were the words: "This memorial is in honor of our brothers and sisters who died of work related injuries.  We mourn our loss and dedicate this special place in their names.  In their memory - we vow from this day forward to work for a safe and healthy workplace for all."

Bill Jakobi - AFL-CIO Labor Liaison for the Eastern Niagara United Way - guided the event, which also featured a rifle salute, a lone bugler and a bagpipe player as a contingent of Niagara County Sheriff's deputies stood by to honor the deceased workers. 

In addition, two new granite benches funded by the Niagara-Orleans Central Labor Council were also dedicated.  Each bench was engraved, one with the words: Union Labor, Protecting Workers Rights, and the other with: Union Labor, the backbone of America.  Those attending the ceremony, one by one, placed a carnation from a basket of flowers, on to the memorial.  A proclamation issued by the Niagara County Legislature marking the 2010 Workers Memorial Day celebration was also read by Niagara County Legislators William Ross and Renae Kimble.

During the past week of Worker Memorial events that have been held across the United States, officials say most workplace deaths result from tragedies that claim one life at a time through preventable incidents or disabling disease - and that every day, a average of 14 workers are killed in on-the-job incidents, while thousands others die each year of work-related disease, and millions more are injured or contract an illness.

In addition to those Western New York workers who were honored and remembered at Saturday's ceremony at Reservoir Park, Union officials called for stronger penalties and enforcement of safety laws on worksites and workplaces across the country - especially in light of recent and tragic events that have included the death of 29 mine workers in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine, seven workers who died in a refinery explosion in Washington State, four who died at a power plant in Connecticut earlier this year, and another 11 workers killed in the massive oil platform explosion off the coast of Louisiana.

"While we are here to remember these workers, our message is that Organized Labor organizes and mobilizes for safe jobs.  We call on OSHA (the Federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration) to protect workers and end employer attacks on workers, as well as institute stricter enforcement.  For decades Unions have led this battle and given workers a 'voice' in the workplace.  Today, we remember the dead and fight for the living," Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Anna Horton told the crowd of more than 50 individuals who attended the ceremony.

As Organized Labor continues to lobby elected officials on both the federal and state levels, Sam Williams of United Auto Workers Region 9 related a story of going to Albany to meet with the area's state Assembly and Senate's Labor Committee representatives.  They presented an artificial limb to each committee head to underscore the loss of life and limbs in workplace accidents.  Williams knows himself the results of an injury that occurs on the job.  He recounted the story of his 24-year-old son who lost a finger.  "It's up to us that more legislation is passed and approved," he said.

Fresh from his trip to New York City to participate in Thursday's National AFL-CIO-led March on Wall Street, Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health (WNYCOSH) Executive Director Roger Cook called for more "criminal penalties for employers."

"Deaths and injuries happen every day in the workplace.  We need criminal prosecution when workers' rights are violated.  People need to go to jail," said an emotional Cook, pointing to the deaths of the 29 mine workers in West Virginia.

In addition to the Niagara-Orleans Central Labor Council, both the Dunkirk and Jamestown AFL-CIO Councils also held Worker Memorial Day observances over the weekend.  In addition, the Buffalo AFL-CIO Council will hold an observance at its monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 11th at the Hearthstone Manor in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga.