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Foster Commemorates Workers Memorial Day 2015

April 29, 2015

Washington, DC— Today, Congressman Bill Foster commemorated Workers Memorial Day, a day honoring the men and women who have lost their lives because of their job and condemning the war on workers' rights that is being waged across the country and around the world.

"More than a century ago, workers in the United States began organizing into unions to fight for safer workplaces and a livable wage. Organized Labor played no small part in the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 45 years ago," Foster said. "The recent attacks on unions through so-called ‘right-to-work' laws put that progress, and the safety of workers, in jeopardy. Along with being an opportunity to remember those we have lost, Workers Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember that the protections we enjoy had to be fought for, and that there is still much to be done to protect Americans from unsafe workplaces."

According to statistics compiled by the AFL-CIO, Illinois has a fatality rate of 2.5 per 100,000 workers per year and is ranked the tenth safest state in the country. Neighboring Indiana, a "right-to-work" state, has a fatality rate of 4.2 per 100,000 workers per year.

Foster recently spoke out against a plan to establish "right-to-work" zones in Illinois. A video of that speech is available here.

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