EVERETT — Community members, labor leaders and local elected officials gathered to honor Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, remembering those killed or injured while on the job in 2024.
The Snohomish and Island County Labor Council, a confederation of 64 local labor unions, organized the memorial. It took place in Everett, a city with a long history of union organizing. A statewide memorial was scheduled for Thursday.
People pause to read names etched in brick at the base of a memorial statue during a ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
At the event, elected leaders advocated to improve safety conditions in workplaces.
“Too many workers continue to get injured and die across our region and country,” county executive Dave Somers said. “Too many families are left grieving, and it is for them we must continue to gather and remember.”
More than 2.5 million people were injured or contracted illnesses while working in 2023, the most recent year with data available, federal statistics show. Over 5,000 people nationwide were killed while working that year. Ninety-seven of them were in Washington state.
Heather Kurtenbach, a member of the Washington Building and Construction Trades Council, speaks during a ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Worker’s Memorial Day was first observed in 1989, according to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. Snohomish County and the city of Everett issued proclamations on Wednesday recognizing the event.
“Continuing efforts to seek stronger safety and health protections, better standards and enforcement, and fair and just compensation will improve safety in every American workplace,” Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin said.
People hang their heads during the reading of names on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
At the memorial, members of the Occupational Safety and Health Division, commonly referred to as OSHA, read the names of dozens of individuals from Washington who died due to injuries at work or complications from previous workplace injuries. Six of those people were from Snohomish County.
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers speaks during a ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“We owe them more than just our sympathy,” said Heather Kurtenbach, a member of the Washington Building and Construction Trades Council. “We owe them action. We owe them change. We owe it to every worker today to not let these names fade into statistics. We must turn memory into momentum.”
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
The sun shines through a memorial statue during a ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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