As we gather today, we remember and grieve for the 29 miners killed a few short weeks ago in a horrific explosion at the Massey Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia. This was the worst mining disaster in the United States in 40 years. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives. Just a few days before the Massey disaster, an explosion at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, Washington killed six workers. And in February, in a gas explosion at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut six workers lost their lives.

In less than 3 months time, 41 workers were killed in 3 major industrial disasters.

In their 2009 report, “Dying for Work in New York” New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health reported that construction workers made up 4.9% of the state’s private-sector employment in 2007 and yet accounted for approximately 20% of the fatalities. Construction deaths are not inevitible--they can be prevented through proper training, workplace safety initiatives and through the strengthening of OSHA penalties for employers.

We must address the nation’s jobs crisis and demand the creation of millions of new jobs so our friends and neighbors can get back to work. These jobs must be good jobs that pay decent wages, provide healthcare and retirement security and give workers a voice on the job. And these jobs must be safe jobs, ones where workers don’t have to risk life and limb and can return home to their loved ones at the end of the day.

The Obama Administration is committed to protecting workers’ safety and health. The President has appointed strong, pro-worker safety and health advocates to head the job safety agencies.

Workers need to be able to raise concerns about job safety or to report injuries without fear of discrimination or retaliation. They can only do this if they are classified as EMPLOYEES, not independent contractors. Only employees are eligible for worker’s compensation, unemployment, health insurance and disability benefits that become so much more important after an job-related injury.

We call on Congress to pass the Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability, and Consistency Act of 2009, which would close loopholes that have been allowing misclassification of employees as independent contractors for far too long.

We call upon Congress to pass the Protecting America’s Workers Act to strengthen OSHA penalties and enforcement, strengthen workers’ and unions’ rights and expand the law’s coverage to the millions of workers who have no OSHA protection. Currently, OSHA provides little incentive to abate hazards. The average proposed OSHA fine resulting from a fatality inspection in New York State was $5,193.

We call upon Congress to strengthen the Mine Safety law so that dangerous mines can be shut down immediately and employers can’t use legal challenges to avoid higher penalties and stronger enforcement action.

And we call upon Congress to enact the Employee Free Choice Act to give all workers the right to form and join a union. Only with a union can workers freely raise job safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and take action to make jobs safer.

On this Workers Memorial Day, we remember and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives on the job or have been injured or made sick.

On this Workers Memorial Day, we call for an end to the unnecessary deaths of our brothers and sisters and action on job hazards that kill and injure.

On this day, we rededicate ourselves to ending injustice in the workplace – to fighting for stronger job safety laws and protections for all workers.

On this day, we pledge to fight for the creation of millions of new good jobs that will provide economic security and opportunity for our fellow citizens.

And on this day, we commit to doing all we can to change the direction of this country so that workers’ voices will finally be heard