The stories reminded us of the tremendous damage that was done to the environment. They reminded us of the outrage and shock we felt when we learned that, despite the advanced technologies that allow for deep water drilling, nothing could be done for months and months to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf.
The stories were also depressing because they underscored the degree to which so little has changed over the past year. Despite the horrors of the explosion and the subsequent spill, the appetite for offshore drilling appears to be as strong as ever. The public outrage of last spring and summer appears to have dissipated.
But what really struck me was that most media coverage completely ignored the significant fact that 11 workers were killed in the Deep Water Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010. These 11 workers never made it home from that job site:
• Karl Kleppinger, 38, of Natchez, Mississippi, who left behind a wife, Tracy, and a 17 year-old son, Aaron.
• Adam Weise, who was mourned at a vigil attended by hundreds of people in his community of Yorktown, Texas, last week. “Adam was my baby, just 24 years old,” the man’s mother, Arlene Weise told reporters.
• Aaron Dale Burkeen, a 37-year-old resident of Neshoba County, near Philadelphia, Mississippi. A local paper reported that Burkeen was responsible for getting the other crew members to safety before leaving, but was unable to get off the rig in time. He is survived by a wife and two children, ages 14 and 6.
• Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana, was scheduled to leave the rig on April 21, the day after the explosion.
• Roy Kemp, 27, Jonesville, Louisiana, leaves behind two daughters, one three years old, the other three months old, and his wife, Tracy.
• Jason Anderson, of Bay City, Texas, also leaves behind two children.
• Stephen Curtis, 39, of Georgetown, Louisiana, is also survived by two children. He had been working in the oil industry for 17 years, following in the footsteps of his father, Howard, who worked as a diver-welder for 34 years.
• Gordon Jones, 28, of Louisiana, leaves behind a son and a pregnant wife, Michelle.
• Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, Louisiana, worked as a chemical engineer on the rig. He had three daughters and was engaged to be married.
• Dewey Revette, 48, from State Line, Mississippi, worked for Transocean for 29 years as a driller, and was also a father.
• Shane Roshto, 22, was from Franklin County, Mississippi and left a widow, Natalie Roshto.
And this carnage was not an isolated incident. Another 69 workers have been killed on offshore oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico since 2001. Another 1,349 workers have suffered injuries on these rigs.
I am telling you this because workers continue to die needlessly at workplaces across the world. In Manitoba last year, 15 workers died on the job, and countless others died from occupational disease.
Next week, on April 28, we will mark the International Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job. I encourage you to take some time to mark this important day when we mourn the dead and pledge to fight for the living.
Events planned for Winnipeg include:
MFL Day of Mourning Candlelight Memorial Service
6:00pm, April 28, 2011
Room 2C, Union Centre, 275 Broadway,
Winnipeg
Contact: Manitoba Federation of
Labour, 953-2563
A candlelight service to remember
those who have lost their lives earning a living, and those who have become
disabled from work.
SAFE
Workers of Tomorrow Annual Day of Mourning Leaders’ Walk
11:45am, April 28, 2011
Depart from Union Centre entrance, 275 Broadway, Winnipeg
Contact: Allan Beach, SAFE Workers of Tomorrow, 992-2988
Join labour and community leaders in
the Annual Leaders’ Walk to the Legislature to honour the National Day of
Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job.
