On This Workers Memorial Day – Recognizing the Value of Safety
On the BCTD President’s Blog is a mention of the Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction as a way to promote safety and prevent injuries and fatalities in the construction industry. From the post:
The construction industry makes up only 7% of our nation’s workforce. But when we compare our industry to other industries like agriculture, manufacturing, and mining, we consistently have the most number of workers killed on the job. Even when the numbers of construction-related fatalities dropped, as they did during our current economic downturn, we are still at the top of the list in workplace fatalities.
Even worse, we know what constitutes the top killer of construction workers. And it remains consistent, year after year. One-third of all construction fatalities are from falls. Falls from rooftops; falls from ladders; falls from scaffoldings; and falls from staging.
That’s why it’s important that we all pay particular attention to the famous words spoke by that fearless fighter for worker justice, Mother Jones, who said, “Pray for the dead. Fight like hell for the living.”