Construction Workers Remembered at Annual Hardhat Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Hundreds of New York City building and construction trades workers processed into St Patrick's Cathedral in hardhats Wednesday, gathering for the annual Memorial Mass and Procession honoring their fellow workers who have tragically died on the job over the past year. It was the 18th annual mass which has taken place at St. Patrick's since the crane collapse in March 2008 that claimed seven lives, six of them from the industry.

A row of chairs was positioned above the pulpit steps, each displaying a white hard hat with the name of a lost construction worker, along with a red rose. At least 10 workers lost their lives on the job this year. Families of the deceased who were in attendance were invited to come up at the end of the Mass to collect the hard hat and rose in memory of their loved one. The Mass, which is bilingual (English and Spanish) was led by Father Brian Jordan, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish and chaplain to the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, and included reflection on the critical importance of OSHA, the resources available through the newly-established Building Trades Peer Support Network, and the disproportionate impact on Latino, immigrant, and undocumented workers, who often face exploitation and fear of deportation.

Click here to read more about the risks that New York building and construction trades workers face every day in NYCOSH's annual construction fatality report, "Deadly Skyline."