Memorial services honor more than 100

Local News

Related Photos

Solemn occasion: Keith Zook bows his head in prayer at the closing of the ceremony. Workers gather outside the Chrysler Kokomo Casting Plant to pay honor to those who have died on the job while bringing awareness to job safety. KT photo by Tim Bath

Discussion

April 27, 2012

Memorial services honor more than 100

By Daniel Human Tribune staff writer The Kokomo Tribune Fri Apr 27, 2012, 10:01 PM EDT

The list was shorter this year, but event organizers said there were still too many names.

Hourly workers, managers and union representatives from some of Kokomo’s largest employers gathered for two ceremonies Friday honoring people who died on the job.

A total 103 Indiana residents died either on the job or later because of work-related injuries or illnesses, according to the Indiana State AFL-CIO.

The list is a combination of deaths reported by the Department of Labor and Worker’s Compensation Board, said AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Harris.

Rick Ward, Howard County chairman of the United Auto Workers’ Community Action Program, told a crowd outside Chrysler Group’s Kokomo Casting Plant that companies and unions will always have their differences, but they need to work together to keep workers safe.

“We’ve got to work harder, we’ve got to work smarter, we’ve got to work together” to protect workers, Ward said.

A couple hours later, representatives from United Auto Workers Local 292 and the American

Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees placed a wreath in Highland Park to honor workers who died.

“That list will hopefully get smaller and smaller,” said Justin Kennedy, a safety representative with UAW Local 292.

The 103 work-related Hoosier deaths remembered Friday were a dip from 115 the U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics reported for 2010 and 125 in 2009.

Nationwide, the bureau reported 4,690 deaths in 2010, the most recent year the federal agency had data for. Five of those fatalities were in the Kokomo area.

According to the AFL-CIO’s most recent Death on the Job report, the state ranked 33rd in workplace fatalities.

Of the 115 work-related fatalities reported in 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated 34, the AFL-CIO reported. Penalties from those investigations amounted to a total $434,300.

Friday’s memorial services in Kokomo were two of hundreds that will happen as part of Workers’ Memorial Day, which is traditionally on or near April 28.

The Indiana AFL-CIO will have a statewide ceremony 11 a.m. Monday in Indianapolis.

• Daniel Human is the Kokomo Tribune business reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

No Headline Provided Youth Swimming Strawberry Splash meet At Crawfordsville, Friday-Sunday Madison Cleaver: 12-year-olds -- 2. 50 backstroke (:40.67); 7. 50 butterfly (:45.64); 8. 100 freestyle (1:23.38); 10. 100 backstroke (1:32.77); 11. 100 butterfly (1:46.67); 13. 50
June 20, 2013
Attachment parenting and its pitfalls If my parents told me once, they told me at least one hundred times, "Don't talk to anyone about their religious or political beliefs." They meant, of course, that those topics are likely to generate tension and angry conflict. As such, they were not
June 20, 2013
1,250 books donated to local area foster children Al and Rena Parks have taken care of 20 foster children in the past two years, and they say it comes with all the joys and pains of being a birth parent. "Sometimes I hate it, and sometimes I love it," Al said with a smile. "It's just like being a p
June 20, 2013 3 Photos
Prosecutor in Tipton case steps down The former special prosecutor investigating allegations that Tipton County Commissioner Mike Cline would receive profits from a wind farm development Cline voted to approve has stepped down. Howard County Prosecutor Mark McCann asked Tipton Circuit C
June 20, 2013
City tears down, purchases properties The tallest building in downtown Kokomo is now under city control, after the Kokomo Board of Public Works & Safety agreed to purchase the Armstrong Landon building and two nearby parking lots for $395,000. The city announced in April it intended to p
June 20, 2013
4-H fair coming to Miami Co. PERU - What do you get when you bring together a hog, a barrel and a giant pit full of mud? For starters, you get a big mess. Second, you get a new event at this year's Miami County 4-H Fair. It's called hog mud wrestling and it's poised to be a big
June 20, 2013 1 Photo
Digging into learning Jerry Ousley's 7-year-old grandson David got to pet almost all of the animals at the Silly Safari, including a rabbit named Bunny FuFu, an armadillo and even a 7-foot-long yellow Burmese python. But David said his favorite was Jenna the dog. Ousley
June 19, 2013 5 Photos
Strip club case heads to court Tuesday The city of Kokomo and the owners of the Tease strip club are due in court next week, with the city seeking to permanently close the near southside club. City planning officials revoked the club's grandfathered zoning status in December after the own
June 19, 2013
Accused doctors seek venue changes Dr. Robert Brewer heads to court today to seek a change of venue for his trial on drug dealing charges, while fellow Wagoner Medical Center physicians Don Wagoner and Marilyn Wagoner will be in court Friday to seek a venue change. The Wagoners, repre
June 19, 2013
Brown is Western's new baseball skipper RUSSIAVILLE -- For the first time since the Carter administration, Western High School has a new baseball coach. Former Panthers diamond standout Quentin Brown was approved as the new skipper at Western's school board meeting Tuesday night, 6-0. Boar
June 19, 2013 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Memorial services honor more than 100

Site Map

Contact Us