Fallen workers honored at memorial ceremony
Mayor, labor leaders gather at 35th annual remembrance in Highland Park
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For the past 35 years, workers from Kokomo and Howard County have gathered in Highland Park to remember their friends, family, and neighbors who lost their lives on the job. While the men and women who were unable to come home are no longer listed by name, the solemnity of the day was not lost upon the dozens in attendance.
Glenn Rodgers, a union activist and retired member of United Auto Workers Local 292 and the United Steelworkers, has been entrusted with preserving the ceremony over the past several years, even attending the event alone in 2020 amidst the COVID isolation. He resumed his role once again on April 29, bringing along the hardhat he used to wear on the job at Continental Steel.
“This is to the honor those who have fallen or died on the job in the past year,” said Rodgers. “I brought my hardhat to remind us that this flagpole (in Highland Park) was placed there from Continental Steel on the original date of the first Workers’ Memorial Day.”
Rodgers led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance and then asked retired UAW International Representative and former UAW Local 292 President Midge Collett to speak. Collett recalled how the local observance was first organized by Pat Hardin, who lost her husband, Jack, on the job at the Kokomo Casting Plant in 1985.
Collett read the words of President Joe Biden, who observed Workers’ Memorial Day along with the rest of the country.
“On Workers’ Memorial Day, we recommit to making sure that every worker in this community and country is safe on the job. We honor those who lost their lives or have been injured on the job. We stand by their families, and we stand with the labor unions that are fighting to guarantee every worker safety, dignity, and respect.
“A job is about more than a paycheck. It's about dignity and respect. Our nation's workers built this country. We need to have their backs. On the most basic level that means every worker in the nation deserves to have a safe job. Too many still risk their lives or well-being in dangerous work conditions. On Workers’ Memorial Day, we honor our fallen injured workers and recommit to making sure that every worker returns home to their families in the same condition they left.”
Mayor Tyler Moore gave a proclamation in honor of Workers’ Memorial Day after recognizing former Mayor Steve Daily, who supported the establishment of the memorial in Highland Park during his tenure and who has been a regular attendee of the event since that time.
Moore cited the latest statistics, which indicated that 5,190 workers died on the job in 2021 from traumatic injuries. Another 120,000 died from occupational diseases. Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, has been observed since 1971, with the local observance first taking place in 1986.
Following the speakers, those in attendance walked to the flagpole in the middle of Highland Park, where a memorial wreath was laid. Logan Rockwell and Allie Shannonhouse – trumpeters from Northwestern High School – played Taps as the crowd bowed silently.