SWCOEH commemorates Workers Memorial Day, aiming to improve workplace safety and health
The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) is supporting Workers Memorial Day, observed annually on April 28 as an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.
April 28 is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and the date the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was formed (April 28, 1971).
“Workers Memorial Day is a stark reminder that the tragic loss of life due to work-related injury and illness persists in the U.S. despite decades of effort to improve the health and safety profile of the working population,” said Dr. Sarah Felknor, DrPH, Center Director for the SWCOEH. “This highlights the need for continued training, research, and outreach across industry sectors in the U.S. today. The UTHealth Houston School of Public Health is responding to this need through graduate degree training and state-of-the-art research in occupational health, safety, and well-being conducted by the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. Our outreach to frontline worker populations translates research findings into practice to protect and promote worker well-being. No one should have to trade their life for their livelihood. Join us as we remember those who have perished, suffered injury, illness, or disability while working to keep the engines of our economy strong and provide for their families." 
In 1970, an estimated 38 U.S. workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries each day and many more endured debilitating respiratory diseases and other life-altering illnesses related to workplace exposures. Today, work-related injuries in the U.S. claim about 15 people’s lives a day.
“Since Memorials are about remembering people or events, this Workers Memorial Day I would like to bring special attention to Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Maynor Yassir Suzao Sandoval, Jose Mynor Lopez, Miguel Luna, and Carlos [last name not given] who died during the Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse, as well as the seafarers on the ship that hit the bridge who are often forced to work in unsafe, dangerous, and under-regulated conditions,” said Dr. Shannon Guillot-Wright, PhD, Total Worker Health® Program Director for the SWCOEH. “These people represent the many contingent workers who have extremely dangerous jobs that keep our economy functioning, and we must do a better job of making sure they are not hidden from view, but visible to the public and our policymakers.”
The SWCOEH provides a variety of graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health®.
The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health is part of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health