Workers, families remember those lost to workplace injury, illness and violence

On April 24, the Missouri AFL-CIO hosted the annual Workers Memorial event in Jefferson City.

A crowd of 150 workers and families gathered to honor those workers who lost their lives over the past year due to on- the-job injuries, occupational illnesses and senseless on-the-job murders.

The event was held just hours after a Kansas City, MO, utility worker was shot dead while working to repair a gas main east of downtown Kansas City, and against the unconscionable backdrop of the Missouri Legislature considering legislation to move the vote on Proposition A (RTW) from the November election to the August primary in a bald-faced attempt to reduce voter turnout on the anti-worker law, which does nothing to create jobs, but lowers wages and workplace safety, in addition to numerous other anti-worker bills.

“It’s a shame,” Mike Louis, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO said, “that a lot of the majority party in the Missouri Legislature choose to concentrate on bills that hurt workers in Missouri instead of creating more jobs in a safe atmosphere with a livable wage and good family healthcare!”