Worker Memorial Day 2025
Thursday, April 24 at 2 p.m.
L&I's 2025 Worker Memorial Day ceremony will honor 97 fallen workers.
L&I staff will be joined by Gov. Bob Ferguson, leaders from business and labor organizations, and our honored guests, the families and friends of those being remembered. The ceremony will be held in person at L&I’s Tumwater building for invited guests and virtually for public viewing.
Other ways to watch the ceremony
Every year since 1990, L&I pauses to honor the men and women who have died due to job-related injuries and illnesses.
During our annual ceremony in April, representatives of government, business, and labor join L&I staff to remember the fallen workers, offers condolences to the family and friends, and recommit our efforts to do all we can so every Washington worker comes home at the end of their shift.
Beyond L&I’s event, Worker Memorial Day events also occur in communities and work sites across the country and around the world.
Past Worker Memorial Day Events
Since 2010, families have been invited to provide a photo and a few words about their loved one for use in a commemorative pamphlet.
2024
- 2024 Worker Memorial Day Program
- Día de Conmemoración de los Trabajadores 2024 (Spanish version)
- 2024년 근로자 추모일 (Korean version)
- День пам’яті працівників у 2024 р (Ukrainian version)
- News release: Washington remembers and honors 93 at Worker Memorial Day ceremony
- Video of the 2024 ceremony
2023
- 2023 Worker Memorial Day Program
- Día de Conmemoración de los Trabajadores 2023 (Spanish version)
- News release: Washington honors 129 at Worker Memorial Day ceremony
- Video of the 2023 ceremony
2022
- 2022 Worker Memorial Day Program
- News release: COVID-19 deaths, construction fatalities among largest groups of fallen workers to be honored at April 28 Worker Memorial Day ceremony
- Video of the 2022 ceremony
2021
- 2021 Worker Memorial Day Program
- News release: COVID-19 victims among the fallen workers to be honored in April 28 ceremony
- Video of the 2021 ceremony
2020
- 2020 Worker Memorial Day Program
- News release: Remembering workers who sacrificed their lives — L&I encourages moment of silence for lost workers and those on the front lines
- Ceremony not held due to COVID-19
2019
History of Worker Memorial Day
A day honoring workers who have died from job-related injuries or illnesses has been observed in the United States since 1989.
The date, April 28, was set as it is when the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created. Today, Worker Memorial Day is observed around the world.
L&I has observed Worker Memorial Day since 1990 and, in 1993, conducted a special ceremony to mark the day.
In 1998, Labor & Industries planted a Worker Memorial Garden. A brass bell sculpture, donated by the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, was installed in the garden in 2007. Family members are invited to ring the bell at the conclusion of the Worker Memorial Day ceremony in remembrance of their loved one.
A book is maintained in the lobby of the L&I Tumwater building with the names of all workers who have died from a workplace injury or illness.