April 28th is the National Day of Mourning to honor those workers who have been injured or died as a result of their employment. Our union continues to demonstrate a consistent commitment to safety, training, innovative health protection programs, better equipment, improved OH&S knowledge and lobbying for enhanced OH&S regulations that have resulted in safer Boilermaker worksites.

While there is no doubt that health and safety has come a long way in our industry, we continue to have too many brothers and sisters suffering from work-related illnesses, injuries and fatalities. "Official" worker compensation fatality statistics remain unacceptable (919 deaths in 2014) and are widely regarded as dramatically under-reported with occupational disease overtaking occupational safety as the main driver of occupational fatality statistics. Year after year these statistics continue to serve only one purpose: to highlight the fact that we need to do better and we can do better.

More recently, the Boilermaker family lost a Brother to a job site accident this year on March 21st. Brother Jamie Lee Paris was a 29 year old 3rd year welding apprentice from Lodge 146. Brother Paris was working on an oil storage tank when he fell from a height of over 20 meters.

Wherever you find yourself on April 28th, at home, on the road or on the job, please take a moment to remember our fellow brothers and sisters like Brother Paris who have died as a result of their work. Keep these brothers and sisters, their family and their friends in your thoughts and prayers. In remembrance, let us all renew our commitment to health and safety and to each other so that every Boilermaker arrives home safe at the end of the workday.

Learn more about the National Day of Mourning by clicking here.