Workers and community members commemorate Workers’ Memorial Day by promising to keep the fight for safe workplaces alive.

On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 5:30 pm, families and loved ones of workers across western Wisconsin will gather at Green Island Park in La Crosse to remember those who have lost their lives on the job and demand action to prevent dangers that cause unnecessary injury, illness and death.

On Workers Memorial Day, the Coulee Region acknowledges, honors, and remembers all workers who lost their lives on the job. Our community renews our commitment to securing healthy and safe worksites for all workers.

In 2024, more than 380 workers died each day from hazardous working conditions – totaling 5,070 workers killed on the job in the United States in 2024. Additionally, an estimated 135,000 workers died from occupational diseases in 2024.

The local ceremony will begin with a non-denominational invocation given by Jacob Eichers, Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in La Crosse. La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey will read a proclamation by the City of La Crosse marking April 28th as Workers Memorial Day in the City of La Crosse.

Speakers paying tribute to the fallen and speaking for workplace safety efforts include Steve Doyle, 94th Wisconsin State Assembly, Jill Billings, 95th Wisconsin State Assembly and Brad Pfaff, 32nd Wisconsin State Senate

Nationally, the overall job fatality rate was 3.3 per 100,000 workers in 2024. The job fatality rate in Wisconsin in 2024 was higher, at 3.7 per 100,000 workers. Workplace homicides continue to be a significant problem, increasing by 3 percent since 2023.

Workers of color die on the job at a higher rate: Black (3.4 per 100,000 workers) and Latino (4.3) worker job fatality rates are disproportionate compared with all other workers.

An estimated 530 workers died from heat on the job in 2024, but both fatal and nonfatal data are an undercount of the heat exhaustion on the job in America.

This occasion is part of International Workers Memorial Day, held yearly on April 28th, where tens of thousands of groups around the globe unite to honor the fallen and to remind everyone that “One worker’s life lost is one too many.”

Enacted in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Mine Safety and Health Act (OSHA) promise workers the right to a safe job. Nobody should break that promise. “Thou shalt not kill,” also means thou shalt not let profit margins decide who lives and who dies.

WHAT: Workers Memorial Day
WHEN: Tuesday April 28, 2026 – 5:30 pm
WHERE: Green Island Park, La Crosse