Honor our fallen Missouri workers by doing your part to protect others

by Karena Lorek, OSHA Area Director, Kansas City, Missouri

Just one month on the job, Brendan Folsom was unloading cut wood planks when he suffered fatal injuries inside a sawmill’s danger zone. At just 21, his life ended at his employer’s Brashear mill. Sadly, Brendan Folsom’s death is an all-too-common occurrence in the U.S.

In 2021, 5,190 workers died on the job in the U.S.*, including 147 in Missouri.  Each day, 14 people suffer work-related deaths. These numbers remind us of the dangers many workers face. Behind these numbers, there are people who mourn each loss. For them, these statistics are loved ones: they’re parents, children, siblings, relatives, friends, or co-workers.

For those left behind the day their loved one was lost becomes a sad remembrance. Graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special times are forever tainted.

To pay tribute to those whose jobs claimed their lives, April 28 is Workers Memorial Day. An opportunity for us to pause and join those families, friends, and co-workers to recall those who suffered work-related injuries and illnesses. The remembrance also recognizes the grief that their survivors face in the days, months, and years after.

Workers Memorial Day also reminds us that more must be done to prevent workplace deaths and injuries. For those of us at the U.S. Department of Labor and, specifically, its Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this annual commemoration reinforces our commitment to developing and enforcing standards and initiatives to safeguard workers and guide employers as they work to provide safe workplaces.

Remember, we all have a role to play in making sure our nation’s workplaces do not endanger our safety and health. If you see people exposed to workplace dangers, don’t ignore your concerns. Alert the employer or contact your local OSHA office or law enforcement agency. Demand that the stores you frequent, the companies that get your business, and those you hire don’t endanger the people they employ. If they won’t, take your business to those who respect their workers’ rights to a safe and healthy workplace, and who don’t put profit ahead of the lives of the people who help them earn it.

On Workers Memorial Day 2023, let’s remember Brendan and all those who didn’t return home after work and commit ourselves to making sure that no one is forced to trade their life for a paycheck.