Workers’ rights groups honor those who died on the job

SPRINGFIELD — Framed black-and-white photos lined the lawn in front of Teamsters Local 404 on Progress Avenue. Each of them was in memory of a worker who died on the job.

Beside the photos, a chair was draped with a neon worker safety shirt and a hard hat sat on the seat.

The ceremony was part of a Workers’ Memorial Day Week of Action, which coincided with the release of the 2026 Dying for Work in Massachusetts report from the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety. The report documented 59 workplace fatalities in Massachusetts in 2025, 22.9% more than the previous year. During the ceremony, the names of the workers were read out, along with their age and industry.

“Workers’ Memorial Day is not only a day of remembrance. It is a public demand for accountability, prevention and dignity,” said MassCOSH Executive Director Tatiana Begault. “We gather to honor those whose lives were stolen by preventable workplace harm, and to insist that Massachusetts invest in the protections current and future workers need right now.”

Referring to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Begault said, “OSHA alone is not enough. They do not have the capacity to train workers. Organizations like us, MassCOSH, we step up to the plate when government agencies are unable to fulfill their position, or job or description.”

Begault said most of the work-related deaths that have occurred can be prevented. “It’s about actually penalizing bad actors and agencies that receive contracts, it’s about regulating, enforcing accountability on the contract giving,” she said. “There’s no accountability.”

MassCOSH’s role is to “bring them up to the light” through research. She said MassCOSH trains workers in knowing their rights, organizing and mobilizing, the laws around OSHA regulations and the proper use of personal protective equipment.

Bryan J. Donovan, president of Teamsters Local 404, said there is a political factor in the waning of unions. “Republicans don’t typically side for unionized labor. Democrats say they do, and then when push comes to shove, you’re not sure if they do either.” He said many companies that were unionized have folded or moved elsewhere.

“This is systematic,” Begault said.

Begault said every worker has rights, regardless of whether they are a union member, their immigration status or their spoken language. She said, “I speak five languages. Injustice is not one of them.”