In 2017, 5,147 workers in the U.S. were killed on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, down slightly from 5.190 in 2016. The fatal injury rate in 2017 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time employees. Three or four people out of 100,000. Not close to one percent. Meaning most everyone escapes being touched by a work-related death.
Still, this coming April 28th, which falls on a Sunday, will be a day of remembrance for those thousands killed on the job, as well as the many thousands more disabled, injured or sickened while working. The AFL-CIO started Workers’ Memorial Day in 1970. In Canada, it is an official Workers’ Day of Mourning. April 28th is recognized as a national day in countries worldwide, everywhere from Bermuda and Brazil to Luxembourg and Peru.