May 7, 2026 — Every year, unions across the country gather to remember and honor those who died, fell ill or became injured on the job on Workers’ Memorial Day. PEF each year gathers in front of the 9/11 memorial at PEF Headquarters to observe the memory of those who have fallen, and recommit to remaining vigilant so that harm does not come to working people at their workplace.
“In 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) went into effect promising every worker the right to a safe job and working conditions,” said PEF Vice President Bruce Giddings at this year’s ceremony on April 28. “Unions continue to draw attention to work-related deaths, diseases and injuries and organize around safer working conditions.”
Giddings recognized the hard work unions like PEF have done to ensure that more lives are saved in the workplace than lost. Yet he also acknowledged that the work is not done.
“Each day thousands of workers are killed and millions more suffer injuries and illnesses on the job,” he said. “The Public Employees Federation is focused on stopping workplace violence and protecting our members. We must never forget their sacrifices, and we must continue to press for safety in the workplace.”
Secretary-Treasurer Joe Donahue agreed with VP Giddings sentiments, adding that too many PEF members are experiencing dangerous working conditions that should not exist in facilities across New York, especially in DOCCS facilities.
“It feels like every other day we hear about dangerous exposures in our DOCCS facilities,” said Secretary-Treasurer Donahue. “We hear about violence in our O-Agencies, inside OMH Psychiatric Centers, inside the Office of Children and Family Services secure facilities, where members work knowing the risk but still show up with dedication and professionalism.”
Donahue praised PEF nurses for showing up in Albany at the Capitol to share stories of their experiences working with low staffing, burnout and other dangers that they and their patients face every day.
“These are not isolated incidents. These are warning signs and they demand action,” he said. “As members of the labor movement, our work does not stop here. We fight for health and safety, for dignity, for justice on the job and that continues every day.”
PEF Health and Safety Director Josh Kemp took a moment to reflect at the 125-year history of workers fighting for their right to be safe at their workplace and refusing to accept that injury or death on the job is the cost of going to work. He shared stories from 1892 and 1911 where workers fought back against industrial companies that endangered their lives, ultimately winning safer workplaces and furthering the labor movement.
These and other incidents eventually pushed President Richard Nixon to sign OSHA into law, but public sector employees in New York still had a fight on their hands.
“Public employees in New York State had to wait another decade. It took 10 more years of union advocacy for New York to pass the Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Act in 1980,” said Kemp. “This is the law that protects every one of our members today and it was not handed to us. Make no mistake, it was won.”
Kemp emphasized that despite OSHA and PESH, unions still have to do the work of advocating for safer conditions, just as those who came before did. He reaffirmed PEF’s commitment to health and safety, training, and fighting for members who deserve better conditions.
“The people who died at Homestead, at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, on September 11, and the workers across the state and in this country—they are the reason we are here,” he said. “We owe them more than just a moment of silence. We owe them a movement that will never quit.”