Workers Memorial Day: Hold the Line for Safe Jobs
On April 28, Workers Memorial Day, the unions of the AFL-CIO pause to remember and honor all workers killed on the job in the previous year and call for safe workplaces for all. We come together at observances across Wisconsin to call for action on workplace hazards that cause unnecessary injury, illness, and death on the job. We stand united to strengthen workers’ rights and protections, and demand resources needed to advance worker protections and enforce safety on the job.
Join us as we commemorate Workers Memorial Day at the following local events:
Construction Workers Memorial: 11th annual Construction Workers Memorial will be held Thursday, April 23, at 3:00pm at St. Patrick’s Church in Madison, 404 E Main St. A hard hat processional will begin at 2:30 p.m. from the Monona Terrace.
Madison: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration and Press Conference will be held Tuesday April 28, at 11:00 am at the Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S Park St.
Milwaukee: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration will be held 5:30 pm on Tuesday, April 28, at the Workers Memorial Gazebo located in Zeidler Union Square, 301 W Michigan St.
Green Bay: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration will be held 11:00 am on Tuesday, April 28, at the Operating Engineers Local 420 Memorial, 1250 Raddison Street.
La Crosse: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration will be held Tuesday, April 28 ,at 5:30pm at Green Island Park, Workers Memorial Grove, 2312 7th St S.
Eau Claire: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration, 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 28, Eau Claire Labor Temple, Brickhouse Building, 2233 Birch Street.
Wausau: Workers Memorial Day Commemoration will be held 5:00 pm on Tuesday, April 28, at the Workers Memorial Site, 388 River Drive.
Each day, more than 380 workers are killed and more than 8,600 suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable. In 2024—the most recent year of reported data—5,070 workers lost their lives from job-related traumatic injuries, and an estimated 135,000 died from occupational diseases. In Wisconsin, 109 workers died on the job and some 57,500 workers reported serious injury or illness from unsafe workplaces. Job safety inspections have never been so few. As of 2025, the United States now has the lowest number of OSHA inspectors and conducts the lowest number of OSHA inspections ever.
Together on this Workers Memorial Day, we don’t just mourn; we step forward to hold the line for safe jobs. We must demand more—not fewer—government resources to do this. A seat at the bargaining table can be a matter of life or death in the workplace, securing a better livelihood and safer future for workers and our families. We stand together to hold employers accountable to keep workers safe. We demand dignity and safety at work.