CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There were 17 workers killed on the job in West Virginia in 2014 and that’s 17 too many according to West Virginia AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue.
Perdue and others will recognize the lives of those workers during Workers Memorial Day ceremonies Tuesday at the state capitol. Perdue said many of the deaths could have been avoided.
“The rules are on the book but there’s commonsense that comes into the workplace. Production is one thing but production with a safe workforce where everyone is coming home is another,” Perdue said Monday on MetroNews Talkline.
Perdue is urging both employers and their workers to be careful.
“There are reasons why the laws are in effect, there are reasons why there is a guard on something and there’s a reason why somebody should not be put in that position or should be in that position,” Perdue said.
The Workers Memorial Day ceremony begins at noon at the West Virginia Miner Statue on the state capitol campus.
Monday marked the 37th anniversary of the Willow Island disaster in Pleasants County when a scaffolding collapse claimed the lives of 51 workers.