WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM) Local 36G President Anthony Barker holds a listing of the names of eight area Workers who were killed on the job during the past 12 months.  The eight were honored during the Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council’s 2023 Workers Memorial Observance that was held at Chestnut Ridge Park in Suburban Orchard Park late last week.  (WNYLaborToday.com Photos)

(ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK) – After adding eight names of Workers who died on the job during the past 12 months, Buffalo AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Denise Abbott asked those in attendance at the 2023 Labor Council’s Workers Memorial Observance: “‘How do we make change?’  ‘It’s on us.’  ‘We have a job to do.’  ‘Let’s do better.’”

The somber event took place at Chestnut Ridge Park in Suburban Orchard Park late last week at the Buffalo Labor Council’s impressive tribute to those who went to work in the morning, but failed to come back home at night.  It was punctuated by a number of speakers calling on Union Leaders and Members to get more involved in making sure Workers remain safe.

“A (Workers’) life is lost every (101) minutes and while we gather to honor those ‘who’ve paid the ultimate price,’ we mourn their loss with their families and friends,” Abbott (pictured below) continued.  “‘We are still seeing too many disasters’ (where Worker lives are lost).  ‘Corporate greed is put before’ human life.  ‘We have to continue to fight to make sure Workers come home safe at night.’  ‘We have to not only think about it, but we have to be the change.’”

Workers Memorial Day is observed annually on April 28th, the date the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) took effect in 1971.

Signed in 1970, the OSH Act has made a tremendous difference, and, after more than 50 years, more than 668,000 Workers can say their lives have been saved by its passage. 

But in 2022, 343 Workers died each day on average from hazardous working conditions, and last year’s fatality data show especially troubling trends: The rate of death on the job for Black Workers rose to its highest number in more than a decade, and fatality rates for Latino Workers have increased 13% in the past decade (Read: The National AFL-CIO’s 2023 Death On The Job Report ‘Shows Alarming Working Conditions Across The Country’ - Data Shows Latino & Black Workers ‘Are Dying On The Job At The Highest Rate In Over A Decade’).

The names of eight local Workers who lost their lives during the past 12 months were read aloud by Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM) Local 36G President Anthony Barker, including Buffalo Firefighters Local 282’s Jason Arno and Allied Universal Security Services Security Guard Aaron Salter, Jr.

Arno lost his life while battling a fire in a building in Downtown Buffalo in March (2023), while Salter’s life was taken from him by a racist shooter who killed several people and wounded several more at the May 14th, 2022 attack at a Tops Supermarket on the City’s East Side.

Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF) President Peter DeJesus (pictured below) also spoke at the observance, saying: “COVID ‘tested us as a country (with its) loss of life.’  ‘While we are here with family and friends to reflect on the lives lost, some who will never be whole again, we must recommit, with our allies, who are willing to step up’ (for stronger safety laws and penalties to employers who fail to make the commitment to keep their Employees safe while working on the job).”

Area U.S. Occupational, Safety & Health Administration Area Director Michael Scime also spoke: “There were eleven workplace fatalities (across Western New York) last year ‘and each one was preventable.’  ‘We need to be diligent, getting out into the field, at the workplace.’  ‘And when you see something (wrong at work), speak out.’  ‘We are on the side of angels.’  ‘We have the same goal, that people go home at the end of the day.’”

“We lost eight more last year, who lost their lives ‘doing their jobs,”’ said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz who also spoke, calling the monument and the area around it “hallowed ground.”

“‘I feel honored to have this memorial here,’” he continued. “‘It’s always here to remind those who only wanted to make a living and who unfortunately did not’ (return home that night).”

With the loud laughter of young children heard playing in a nearby playground, Poloncarz said the sound should serve as a reminder that “life goes on,” but for all to work hard to make sure the area’s workforce has the “opportunity to bring their children here” in the years to come.