Workers Memorial provides opportunity to remember and renew commitment

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4576

By Barb Kucera, Workday editor
3 August 2010

ST. PAUL - Years of effort came to fruition Tuesday with the dedication of the Minnesota Workers Memorial, a monument on the grounds of the state Capitol dedicated to those injured and killed on the job.

The memorial was the vision of Minnesota AFL-CIO President Emeritus Dave Roe, who worked tirelessly to wrangle support for a monument honoring the state’s workers. It consists of a long, stone wall on which is inscribed a poem by Langston Hughes. Other inscriptions will be added, Roe said.

“This memorial is on precious ground,” former Vice President Walter Mondale said in remarks at Tuesday’s dedication ceremony. “This isn’t just any ground. This is precious. That’s where it should be.”

The Capitol grounds include a number of memorials, including several to Minnesotans killed while serving in the military.



Some 250 people, including a number of union leaders and elected officials, attended the dedication ceremony. They said the monument will not only be a place of remembrance, but a place to recommit to the goal of workplace safety.

The memorial is “a place where people can come, reflect and visit a lost one,” said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council. “It will also be a memorial to what needs to happen in the workplace to improve safety.”

FULL story and more photos at link.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. History is important