In honour of the 2019 National Day of Mourning, United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6166 hosted a small, intimate gathering at their union hall on April 28, where they paid tribute to the 25 Manitoba workers who lost their lives on the job or died to due to workplace illnesses the previous year.
The list of the fallen included men like 21-year-old semi-truck driver Bradley Jackson, who died in September after a crash caused the hot tar he was hauling to spill into his cab, burning most of his body.
“As Steelworkers, April 28 is the day we reflect on what we must do to change the terrible fact that 900 to 1,000 working women and men are still being killed every year [in Canada] for the sake of a paycheque and the right to feed their families,” said USW Local 6166 vice-president Tony Colbourne. “And with each person we’ve lost in these preventable tragedies, the effects have multiplied among the families and loved ones who are left behind.”
Even though large strides have been made in workplace health and safety since the National Day of Mourning was established back in 1991, Colbourne said they still have a long way to go.
“Many of our existing health and safety laws are only here because someone died, and someone else fought to ensure it won’t happen again,” he said. “Our union is committed to concrete action to protect the health, safety and environment of our members and all workers. We can make a difference at work, in the community and in the legislature.”
Sunday’s ceremony also featured words from Thompson MLA Kelly Bindle, Pastor Mel Versluis, Mayor Colleen Smook, Vale representative Gary Eyres and Danielle Adams on behalf of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton.
Outside of Canada, the National Day of Mourning is now observed in over 100 countries under various names.
