John,

Today is international Workers Memorial Day, a day on which workers and their lawmakers all over the world hold vigils, remembrance events, demonstrations, and actions to mark this important event. But today is different; it’s a Workers Memorial Day unlike any other.

Over the past year, we’ve lost far too many in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including about 300 AFT members who died as a result of illness or injury at work. Today is a rallying cry to remember those we’ve lost, and to fight like hell for the living who are still put in unnecessary danger every day.

Share your stories on social media using #IAmAFT and #WorkersMemorialDay. You can take direct action today with us as well. Writer your Senators and tell them to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize(PRO) Act.

Some people will say that the threat of violence is simply part of the job—that this is what our frontline workers have signed up for. I’m here to tell you that violence and the pit of worry and fear it brings are not “part of the job” and should never be expected or tolerated. Many of our 1.7 million members––from public employees to nurses––report being kicked, punched, spat on and thrown. These incidents stay with the victims when they go home. There is a human toll of chronic stress and secondary trauma that can no longer be ignored. The freedom to thrive means the freedom to safely do your job, and to be able to live a full and meaningful life.

That fear and worry don’t just come from unsafe situations, but from unsafe facilities as well. Educators work in classrooms ravaged by mold and asbestos; public employees work in facilities with few or no safety precautions and little recourse for changing that. Every year, more people are killed at work than in wars. Most do not die from mystery ailments, or in tragic “accidents.” They die because an employer decided workers’ safety was secondary to other priorities. Workplace safety in all its forms has been put under a necessary spotlight this year, and we can no longer refrain from addressing it.

Throughout this pandemic, workers have put their safety and the safety of their families to the side to keep us safe and keep this country running. We need our lawmakers to not only address frontline workers as heroes, but also to protect them like heroes. Write your Senators now and tell them to pass the PRO Act.

As I often say, our working conditions are our patients’ healing conditions, our kids’ learning conditions and our communities’ safety conditions. This is why unions have always been one of the best lines of defense when it comes to workplace safety. We are a crucial part of keeping our workplaces safe in the face of everyday danger as well as in combating diseases like COVID-19. That starts with following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, and using protective equipment and layered mitigations that make sure we can do our jobs safely.

So, we continue our work to get members and all workers the resources and funding they need to rehabilitate their facilities and to protect themselves and the people they serve. The work isn’t done until every building and every worker are safe, and until workers who are in unsafe buildings and in harm’s way can speak up and be heard; so, we keep fighting.

This Workers Memorial Day, share your story and take action to fight for safe workplaces by calling your lawmakers now, and urging them to support the PRO Act.

In unity,

Randi Weingarten

AFT President

P.S.: Today we will be holding a vigil in honor of Worker's Memorial Day and those we have lost this year. You can join us on Facebook at 2:30 PM EDT