ISHPEMING — On this Workers Memorial Day on Tuesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health turn 55 years old and the Mine Safety and Health Administration is nearly 50 years old.

The laws creating these agencies promised every worker the right to a safe job. These laws were won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement, which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action from the government to protect working people. Take for instance, “Big Annie” Clemuce from Calumet. During one of the first labor strikes in the Upper Peninsula during 1913, “Big Annie” rallied the striking miners by leading them with a 6 by 10 foot flag and her voice. To honor her efforts, the Keweenaw Community Foundation is erecting a life size bronze statue in her honor.

Even after a century of advancement in environmental safety, the fight continues. According to the ALF-CIO, each day 380 workers are killed and more than 8,600 suffer injuries and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable. As for 2025, the U.S. now has the lowest number of OSHA inspectors and conducts the lowest number of OSHA inspections to date. With the current OSHA inspection numbers, it would take OSHA 191 years to inspect every workplace once and Congress only allows the agency to spend $3.85 protecting each worker it’s responsible for. This is preventing OSHA and MSHA from setting needed job safety standards that raise the bar for all working conditions.

Together on this Workers Memorial Day, we will do more than mourn the workers we have lost in the past year but we will step forward and hold the line. We must hold our employers accountable and keep workers safe. We must demand more governmental resources for OSHA to remain in place and active with inspections. We must secure a safer future for the next generation of workers.

Please join the Upper Peninsula Regional Labor Federation on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at the Cliff Shaft Mine Museum at 501 W. Euclid St., Ishpeming, starting at noon to 3 p.m. to honor our regions fallen workers as well as honoring the 100th anniversary of the Barns Heckler Mining Disaster.