Workers' Memorial Day; Milwaukee event honors those who died on the job
MILWAUKEE - Every April 28, labor organizations around the world, including in Milwaukee, pause to remember workers who died on the job last year.
The Milwaukee Area Labor Council said 62 people died on the job in Wisconsin last year.
Organizers say their stories are worth remembering.
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In a park dedicated to unions, they all wear different acronyms on their chest. But it's names that bring them together.
Names like John Manka's now read in memory.
Snowplow crash, driver dead; family asks others to be mindful
A Milwaukee County snowplow driver died after he ran off the road and crashed near I-894 and Beloit. His family wants drivers to be more mindful.
FOX6 News interviewed his family in January 2023, just days after the 71-year-old died, when the county snow plow he was driving crashed.
The Milwaukee Area Labor Council says he's one of 62 employees across Wisconsin who died on the job last year.
"None of these are accidents,"WisCOSH President Jim Schultz said. "WisCOSH firmly believes and affirms that every workplace incident can be prevented if employers do their job."
Workers' Memorial Day is personal for Mark Pelzek.
Seven years ago, the city building inspector lost his colleague Greg 'Ziggy' Zyszkiewicz, who was shot and killed near 23rd and Cherry.
"I remember the day that I heard the news," Pelzek said. "His wife, children and grandchildren miss their husband, father and grandfather daily, because he never returned home from work that day seven years ago."
This year, labor leaders recommitted their focus to advocating for safe workplaces.
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"I don't want to see nobody lose their life on the job," said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 Vice President Michael Brown.
They dream of a Workers' Memorial Day without adding more names.
"Let us never forget the words of Mother Jones, which we've heard a couple times here today, 'We mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living,’" Waukesha County Labor Council Treasurer Scott Spearo said.
The latest available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2022. It shows 125 Wisconsin workers died that year.