Workers Memorial Day, April 28, was a time for all of us to remember workers who were killed on the job in the last year. It was also an opportunity for us to recognize that our nation's safety laws must be stronger and more thoroughly enforced.

A new report from the AFL-CIO, entitled "Death on the Job," shows that in Indiana in 2007, 127 workers were killed on the job and 107,800 were injured.

Nationally, 5,657 workers lost their lives on the job, and more than 4 million were injured.

After eight years of an administration that did little to strengthen -- and much to undermine -- basic protections for America's working men and women, it is a relief to have a new president who is committed to protecting workers' health and safety.

For the first time in almost a decade, we have a real opportunity to win stronger health and safety protections, and to make the Occupational Safety and Health Administration work for America's workers. We need to fight for new standards to protect workers and stronger penalties for employers who violate the law and put workers in danger. It's also time to expand OSHA's protections to millions of public employees, flight attendants and other workers who are not currently covered.

But it's going to take all of our voices to make that happen. We've got to start by making sure that workers have the right to freely form and join a union by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

With a union, workers are not only more likely to have good health care and a stable job, but also the power to speak up about safety concerns on the job, free from the threat of employer intimidation. Unions give workers a means for bargaining for better health and safety standards and training in their workplaces.

Please remember the millions of hard-working Americans who have been hurt or killed on the job. Join us in calling on our new leadership to fight for good safe jobs, for all.

- Cheryl DeCero, Munster