Reston, Va (April 28, 2022) - Dennis L. Martire, Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) made the following statement in honor of the workers that we remember this week on Workers' Memorial Day and May Day: 

Two days with origins from dark moments, Workers’ Memorial Day and May Day, are marked in the spring season and remind us that light can come from darkness when we recommit to workers’ rights and workers’ safety.

Workers are at the foundation of both of these days. We remember workers who have lost their lives on the job on Workers’ Memorial Day, and we commemorate workers who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our first rights as workers such as the 8-hour work day.

Even brighter than the light from the candles lit in memory of these lives lost is the action taken to prevent future loss.

While lower than what we have experienced over the last two years, COVID continues to take workers’ lives. By coming together in a union and fighting for increased safety, workers’ unity and strength has also saved lives. In construction, states with higher union membership have fewer workplace deaths. 

Every worker should feel safe when they go to work whether it be protection from COVID or protection from a fall on a construction site, and every worker should be able to return home to their family after a day on the job. That is why we recommit to enforcing strong training, health and safety standards to protect LIUNA members and workers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.