Mock funeral procession in L.A. seeks to draw attention to worker fatalities

[Omaha Steve]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/04/mock-funeral-procession-in-la-seeks-to-draw-attention-to-worker-fatalities.html

April 24, 2010 | 1:59 pm

A mock funeral procession made its way through L.A.’s Pico Union and Koreatown neighborhoods Saturday as part of a “memorial day” rally honoring workers injured or killed in the workplace each year.

Labor activists and area unions helped put together the annual event, held this year outside the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, across the street from MacArthur Park.

“The idea is to bring awareness of worker fatalities and injuries across the United States,” said Peter Greyshock, coordinator for Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety, a nonprofit group.

Worker safety has been in the news with the recent deaths of 29 people in a West Virginia coal mine and the explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that left 11 missing. But most occupational deaths receive little notice.

“A lot of workers die alone, and only their friends and families know,” Greyshock said. “They may fall off a roof or suffer from heat illness.”

Speakers, including Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach), urged passage of stronger state and federal occupational safety laws. Many said existing laws were outdated.

FULL story at link.