With the cold, swollen Mississippi beside them and the twisted metal fragments of the 35W bridge behind them, Building Trades members on Monday honored 10 members who died on the job in the past year or from job-related illnesses.

The nation's workplace safety laws and penalties are too weak to effectively protect workers, according to the AFL-CIO's annual Death on the Job report, which will be released on Thursday, April 24. The report identifies how many people lost their lives and were injured at workplaces in the past year and provides in-depth state analysis on workplace safety.

Rising unemployment and health care costs, struggling schools and communities, broken levees and falling bridges – as the U.S. and Minnesota fail to invest in the future, the quality of life declines.

The University of Minnesota Labor Education Service is sponsoring a conference to analyze this problem – and discuss strategies for building a movement to reinvest.

Prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures can result in health problems such as frostbite and hypothermia. Workers, especially those in construction, need to be especially mindful of the temperature and extreme weather conditions.

Robert Wilkens, 29, died Wednesday afternoon after falling off a pedestrian bridge under construction in St. Louis Park near the intersection of Ottawa Avenue and County Road 25.

There were 5,703 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2006, down slightly from the revised total of 5,734 fatalities in 2005, according to data released recently by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

As much as we all try to prevent them, accidents happen. Accidents are defined as any unplanned events, major or minor, that result in personal injury or illness (of any kind), death, or property damage.