Local Working People in Philadelphia to Honor Those Injured or Killed on the
                   Job in the Past Year and Call for Change

    PHILADELPHIA, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Local hotel workers, transportation
workers, factory workers, postal workers, nurses and Richard Trumka, Secretary
Treasurer of National AFL-CIO, will join firefighters, city workers, telephone
operators, other local workers and Bill George, President, Pennsylvania AFL-
CIO, to mourn for those who were injured or killed on the job in the past year
and to commit to escalating the fight for safer jobs.
    The event is part of Worker's Memorial Day, held annually on April 28.
The group will come together under the banner, "Good Jobs, Safe Jobs, Protect
Workers Now."  Hundreds of events similar to the one in Philadelphia will take
place across the globe.  This is the 16th annual observance of Worker's
Memorial Day.
    While the actual statistics on workplace safety show improvement, every
year about 6,000 people are killed at work, with a recent surge in fatalities
among Latino workers.  In addition, 50,000 workers die annually from
occupational diseases and millions more are injured.  One hundred and eighty
eight workers were killed in Pennsylvania in 2002, the latest year statistics
are available.
    "Our mourning is deep, but our commitment to fight for the living and to
put an end to workplace deaths and injuries is even deeper," says Bob Gurecki,
Chairman of Philaposh.  Philaposh and the Philadelphia Council, AFL-CIO are
Co-sponsoring the event.
    "The Bush administration has a poor record on safety and health,"
commented Pat Eiding, President of the Philadelphia Council, AFL-CIO. Eiding
continued, "We call for new leadership that will prioritize safety on the job.
The Bush administration has overturned or blocked dozens of workplace
protections. Voluntary compliance has been favored over enforcement, and job
safety programs have been weakened, leaving workers in danger."
    Worker's Memorial Day will take place on Wednesday, April 28 with a
10:00 a.m.  Program at 1301 S. Columbus Boulevard (the Sheet Metal Workers'
Hall) and will continue with a 11:00 Mock Funeral Procession to the Great
Plaza, followed by a 12:00 noon Memorial Service at the Great Plaza, where
workers will share stories of loved ones who were killed on the job, offer
personal testimonies about local companies and their safety conditions and
point to how unions help address these safety concerns.

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