COUNTYWIDE : Workers March for Safety on the Job

Labor leaders and workers from across the county demonstrated at the Ventura County Government Center during lunch hour Thursday in memory of the more than 10,000 Americans killed on the job each year.

The Workers Memorial Day observance drew at least 75 people to the government center. Demonstrators carried placards listing the names of 13 people who lost their lives while at work in Ventura County during the past four years, said Larry Wear, a member of the Tri-Counties Central Labor Council.

The council is a nonprofit organization that includes 44 local unions and operates under the AFL-CIO.

Nationally, the deadliest industries are mining, agriculture and construction. In addition, about 100,000 workers die each year from long-term effects of occupational diseases such as asbestosis and brown lung, according to government statistics.

Labor leaders must continue to work in political action committees, fighting state budget cutbacks that threaten the future of CAL-OSHA as a policing force, said Dennis Shaw, secretary of the Teamsters Local 186.

“Even though it’s primarily symbolic in our country, it’s done to remember the people who were killed or injured,” Shaw said of the demonstration. “We need to stay involved politically . . . to continue the protection everybody should have when they go to work.”