Each April, the labor movement and working people across the country observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have tragically died on the job, and to reflect on the state of working conditions and worker protections in our country.
Communities nationwide are hosting Workers Memorial Day commemorations this week. Attend a Workers Memorial Day event near you.
Today, we are also releasing our 35th annual Death on the Job report. The newest data we released this morning is alarming: Workplace hazards kill approximately 140,000 workers each year in the United States—more than 380 workers each day.
Findings include:
- 5,070 workers died from traumatic injury on the job in 2024, the latest year of data available, and an estimated 135,000 died from occupational diseases. An estimated 530 workers died from heat alone.
- Black workers still die on the job at a disproportionately higher rate than the national average.
- Latino workers continue to face the greatest risk of dying on the job in 2024, at a rate 30% higher than the national average. Of the Latino workers who died, 68.5% were immigrants, a larger percentage than in previous years.
- The rate of young worker deaths has nearly doubled since 2020, and workers ages 65 and older are nearly three times as likely to die on the job than other workers.
- Workplace injuries create an enormous burden on the economy, costing an estimated $177 billion to $354 billion a year.
- Underreporting is widespread, and the true toll of work-related injuries and illnesses is estimated to be between 5.0 million and 7.5 million each year in private industry.
Read the 2026 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect report.
We need to do more to keep workers safe—but the Trump administration is doing the opposite, gutting funding for the agencies responsible for job safety: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). This year, the administration has:
- Pushed out so much staff that staffing at these safety agencies is at new lows, leaving fewer inspectors than ever to cover a growing workforce.
- Instructed inspectors to focus on employer outreach and assistance, taking time and resources away from inspections with citations.
- Reduced the fines corporations pay when they violate OSHA rules.
- Stopped conducting MSHA impact inspections at mines with a poor history of compliance.
- Proposed twice to eliminate worker safety and health training grants, even though Congress has rejected these cuts so far.
These policies and the gutting of workplace safety agencies will only increase the numbers of loved ones we lose on the job, and these deaths are preventable.
As we honor those who have fallen this Workers Memorial Day, we remain committed to holding corporations accountable so that all jobs are safe jobs—where every worker can return home safely at the end of the day.
Read the 2026 Death on the Job report and find a Workers Memorial Day event near you.
In solidarity,
Team AFL-CIO
THE NPMHU LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR THE 119TH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION — 2026
