Workplace safety is a basic human right

Workers deserve certain things.
They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, they deserve a living wage and basic benefits, and they deserve a save workplace and the ability to return home safely to their families after their work day.
This holds true in Sandy Hook Elementary School, in West Texas, and in Bangladesh.
This holds true because they are basic human rights, upheld by religions and philosophies.
They are a part of the basic human work contract.
A worker has an obligation to provide a good days work and an employer has an obligation to treat that worker with respect and dignity, and to provide a living wage, basic benefits, and a safe workplace.
Too often, in pursuit of greater profits, employers do not fulfill their ethical obligations.
This past Sunday, and every April 28, we celebrated Workers Memorial Day, honoring workers who have died on the job or as a result of job related illness, and rededicating ourselves to worker's safety.
I attended a moving celebration at Memorial Park in Groton, CT.
Labor Council President Wayne Burgess led the ceremony and closed with a quote from labor leader Mother Jones that sums up what we must all do.
"Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living".   Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones)