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2002 Table of Contents | Public Employee Press Archives
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Labor
mourns its heroes
Nine DC 37 members died on the job last year,
three of them on Sept. 11.
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To the skirl of bagpipes, hundreds of unionists walked in procession
April 26 to the rim of "the valley of the shadow of death,"
where the World Trade Center once stood. The banners they carried
and the yellowand black ribbons pinned to their coats declared: "Mourn
for the dead, fight for the living."
They gathered in the chill air at the edge of the pit and listened
solemnly, some weeping, as union leaders marked the annual Workers
Memorial Day by remembering the nearly 3,000 workers, including 600
union members, who died on Sept. 11.
The ceremonies started at historic Trinity Church, a few blocks away.
At that service, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts read the
23rd Psalm, which includes these fitting words: "Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
for thou art with me." Representing District Council 37's national
union, AFSCME, was Lee Saunders, assistant to President Gerald W.
McEntee and former administrator of DC 37.
Three DC 37 members died in the World Trade Center collapse and its
aftermath: Rev. Mychal Judge, a Local 299 Chaplain, and Paramedics
Carlos Lillo and Ricardo Quinn of Local 2507.
Those we lost
Six other members died on the job during the past year: Betty Davis
of Local 372, Archie Tyler of Local 376, Walter Langhorn of Local
768, Harry Pellegrino Jr. of Local 1505, Wendy Bryant of Local 1549
and Barbara Poppo of Local 3621.
Offering memorial reflections at Trinity Church was John Sweeney,
national president of the AFL-CIO. "We have come together to
mourn the lives of the men and women who were tragically killed Sept.
11 as they began their workday," he said. "We mourn the
heroes who gave their lives rescuing others.
And we also promise to honor all the other workers who died or were
injured on the job last year - not just in terrorist attacks, but
in workplace accidents and as a result of dangerous conditions. In
their memory, we renew our promise to keep fighting for safe workplaces."
Many speakers praised the bravery shown by the hundreds of Firefighters
and Police Officers who lost their lives, as well as the construction
workers, volunteers and members of many DC 37 locals who labored tirelessly
to find survivors, recover remains and remove the debris.
Before the ceremonies, union members distributed some 100,000 leaflets
at subway stations, bus stops and on street corners, asking New Yorkers
to observe a minute of silence at noon to honor workers killed last
year. Construction workers at the disaster site joined participants
at the Ground Zero ceremony as they paid tribute to the dead with
their noontime silence.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5,915 workers died
from traumatic on-the-job injuries in 2000, while another 50,000 to
60,000 die every year from job-related diseases.
— Walter Balcerak