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From right to left: DC38 Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Byrne, Glaziers' Union Local 1527 Marv Magnison, Drywall Finishers' Union Local 2009 Kelvin Campbell, Lathers and Allied Trades Union Local 163 Dennis Olsen, and Director of Manpower Development Orfeo Pagliacci take a moment to remember the 143 workers who died on the job in B.C. in 2010.
On the morning of April 28, 2011 just after the rain let up, a group of people gathered in the Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Convention Centre to remember the 143 workers who died on the job in B.C. in 2010.
The annual event was marked by a moment of silence and a procession of 143 roses to remember each person who lost his or her life while doing their job. The Olympic Torch was ignited to honour those lost as well.
"The worst thing we can do is forget," said Jim Sinclair, president of the BC Federation of Labour. "We have to keep putting the rights of workers before profits."
Ken Georgetti, president of Canadian Labour Congress, recalled his own experience on the job as a young worker filling houses with asbestos without any protective equipment or gear. But even protective equipment can't help against negligence from the employer, he said.
"Sometimes prevention isn't enough," Georgetti said. "There needs to be prosecution."
Many of the speakers touched on the important issue of keeping young workers safe. This point hit home when Jessica Kruger, an injured young worker, took the stage to talk about her experiences at her first job as an exterior house painter, a job that left her a quadriplegic after a 6-metre fall down a ladder.
"I believe everyone needs to do more to keep young workers safe," she said.
The final speaker of the ceremony was the Honourable Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Labour, Citizens'
Services and Open Government.
"Safety on the job is more than just a policy or a strategy. It's a culture," she said. "We can't ever be complacent."
"It's important that we continue demanding safer worksites and prosecution of those who put profit ahead of worker safety until all workers are safe," said Patrick Byrne, DC38 Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer after the ceremony.
"Having children of my own just entering the workforce, I was especially struck by the story of young Jessica Kruger," he said. "At only 15 years of age when she was injured trying to make a few dollars painting houses, she now has to spend the rest of her life confined to a wheel chair. No one's child should have to endure that kind of pain or suffering."
To see more photos from the Day of Mourning ceremony, click here.
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