Hundreds turn out for Workers Memorial Day in Detroit honoring those who died on the job

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Nick Kotema is a member of United Steelworkers and arrived in Downtown Detroit from Akron, Ohio, for Workers Memorial Day.

"It's real, I have a lot of friends in the steel industry that have lost some buddies that I know about - it's a real situation," he said.

Kotema and hundreds joined together at Hart Plaza to never forget the sacrifices people make in the course of work - especially those who have lost their lives on the job.

"Every worker to come home from work alive," said one official who spoke.

"We’re all here today because we care about safety and reform," said Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington

Workers Memorial Day is also about working to make places of work safer, the pandemic presents new challenges.  

"The nurses and all the healthcare workers who have suffered through this COVID-19 pandemic, they need to be honored," said Nurse Dina Carlisle. "They have lacked PPE, they have gone through unbelievable conditions. This is not over, this is still going on at the hospital. We have some PPE, but the staffing shortage, we have no staff."

Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist was also on hand.

"We’re stepping up and saying we will have your back when you choose these professions," Gilchrist said. "There will not be a money barrier to you getting the education you need, to be the kind of medical professional you're ready to be. We're proud of that and we're going to continue to have people's back in that way."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Fatal work injuries in Michigan totaled 131 in 2020.