Join HSAs Board of Directors at Day of Mourning ceremonies

On April 28 ... the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job ...  HSA President Reid Johnson and the unions Board of Directors will place a wreath at a ceremony in downtown Vancouver.

All workers and their families are invited to pay tribute to workers who have been injured or killed on the job, or stricken with occupational disease.

HSA President Reid Johnson said injury and fatality rates in BC are still far too high. -On the Day of Mourning, we honour workers who have died ... and we recommit to the fight to improve workplace health and safety," he said.

Last week, at HSAs annual convention, Johnson presented an occupational health and safety award commemorating a union member killed on the job.

-HSA member David Bland was a vocational counsellor who worked at Richmond Mental Health Services," he said. -At the end of an otherwise ordinary workday in January of 2005, as David left his workplace and walked to his car, a former client was waiting in the parking lot ... and murdered David.

-The events of that day sent shockwaves through the health care industry, and exposed the reality of our work," he said. -Ever since, in Davids memory, the union has presented an award to honour the important work that union members and stewards undertake as advocates for their colleagues in ensuring we all work in a safe environment," he said.

The union awarded this years David Bland Memorial to Shannon Breeze, a registered psychiatric nurse at Victorias Eric Martin Pavilion ... a workplace with far more reported violent incidents than any other health care worksite in BC.

Read about past recipients of the award on HSAs website.

For a listing of Day of Mourning events in your area, see the BC Federation of Labours website.

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