Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez to attend Workers’ Memorial Day event in Milwaukee

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The Milwaukee Area Labor Council (MALC) on Thursday announced Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez will attend this year’s Workers’ Memorial Day ceremony to remember workers who have died while on the job at Zeidler Union Square in Milwaukee.

Rodriguez, other elected officials, union members and local union leaders will attend the commemoration and speak about the need for safer workplaces, read the names of people who have died and renew the fight for stronger worker protections across the country, MALC officials added.

The ceremony is at 5 p.m. on Friday. Members of Local 8, Federation of Musicians, will play “Taps” at the end of the ceremony.

A pre-event fundraiser and happy hour is planned for 3 p.m. at the American Postal Workers Union Hall at 417 N. 3rd Street in Milwaukee, Wis., according to a MALC flyer.

MALC, the Waukesha County Labor Council and the Wisconsin Committee on Occupational Safety & Health (WisCOSH) will be in attendance, according to the flyer.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 5,000 people have died of injuries while working in 2021. A total of 105 workers died on the job in Wisconsin that year, a report from the AFL-CIO showed.

Workers Memorial Day is celebrated on April 28th, the same day the Occupational Health and Safety Act went into effect more than 50 years ago, according to the AFL-CIO website.