BENWOOD – To honor West Virginia workers who died on the job - 20 were lost in 2023 - the West Virginia AFL-CIO and the Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler Central Labor Council will hold the 36th annual Workers Memorial Ceremony Sunday, April 28, in Benwood, WV.
“As we do each year, we will read the names of West Virginians who lost their lives due to workplace injury and illness, take a moment to pay tribute to them, and vow to keep fighting for the promise of safe jobs for all workers,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword said. “In 2023, 20 West Virginians lost their lives while on the job. They were first responders, coal miners, utility workers, those in the timber industry and transportation, our friends and neighbors, and they should have returned home safely to their loved ones.”
On April 28, unions of the AFL-CIO throughout the country will observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job, and to call for action to make workplaces safe.
Sword noted United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts will be among the labor leaders speaking at this year’s West Virginia event, which will take place at Benwood, WV, the site of the tragic Benwood Mine Disaster, which also took place on April 28 - 100 years ago.
The ceremony will be broadcast via Facebook Live.
WHAT: 36th Annual Workers Memorial Ceremony
WHEN: 1 p.m., Sunday, April 28, 2024
WHERE: St. John’s Fellowship Hall, 622 Main St., Benwood, WV, 26031