Ground is broken on Fallen Workers Memorial in Salem

Ground has broken on the new Fallen Workers Memorial at the main entrance of the Labor and Industries Building on the State Capitol Mall in Salem.

The Oregon AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Committee has been trying for more than three years to erect a permanent memorial to honor workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The idea started in 2005 with a resolution passed at an Oregon AFL-CIO convention.

On the week of Feb. 23, union workers from LCG Pence Construction began laying the groundwork for the memorial, which will consist of a large boulder within a landscaped sitting area near the main entrance of the L&I building. The boulder will have a union-made bronze plaque attached to it with the inscription:

“In memory of Oregon’s working men and women who suffered injury or loss of life on the job. MOURN FOR THE DEAD, FIGHT FOR THE LIVING Workers Memorial Day, April 28. Donated to the State of Oregon by the working men and women of the Oregon AFL-CIO”

The memorial will be dedicated on Tuesday, April 28 — Workers Memorial Day. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has been invited to speak at the service and to dedicate the memorial.

The national AFL-CIO declared April 28 as Workers’ Memorial Day more than two decades ago to remember those who have been killed or injured on the job. Every year unions throughout the country hold services to remember those workers.

To date, $37,500 has been collected for the Fallen Workers Memorial following a $5,000 contribution from SAIF Corporation and the Oregon AFL-CIO, $2,500 from Plumbers and Fitters Local 290, $2,000 from the Steelworkers Legislative and Education Committee, and $1,500 from Service Employees Local 503. Numerous locals have contributed anywhere from $100 to $1,000. Total cost for the project is $49,765.

Donations can be sent to: Oregon AFL-CIO, Worker Memorial Fund 2110 State St. Salem, OR 97301.

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