Last week we celebrated Martin Luther King Day. Martin Luther King Junior was a civil rights leader whose voice shook the foundations of America and resonated throughout the entire world. In the United States we celebrate King’s life on the third Monday in the month of January each year; this year we celebrated on January 15th, King’s actual birthday. Many cities celebrate this holiday with parades and community get-togethers. Federal legislation often preempts the celebration by encouraging American citizens to volunteer, therein embodying Martin Luther King’s cause of bettering society and helping your fellow man. As we reflect on the past week and remember our day of celebration, we can remember that innovative thinking is a cause which will continue on. While we honor one who dedicated his life to civil rights, we can continue to propel his dream by educating ourselves on all the details of life that civil rights entails.
The fight for civil rights has not ended. Basic civil rights include not just the right to work, but the right to work in safety; not just the right to vote, but the knowledge of how voting affects your everyday life. Jordan Barab, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor at OSHA, makes the statement in his online newsletter, that all American workers, “need to know that there are technical resources out there. And they all need to know that politics matters, voting matters — in national and local elections. Politics and voting affect workers’ likelihood of coming home alive and healthy, how much they’re getting paid and what their rights are. Everything is connected — tax cuts, growing deficits, federal budgets, executive orders, regulatory “reform” — it all affects workplace safety every day.” These “technical resources” Barab refers to include Barab’s own blog, myriads of webinars, OSHA’s website, and many more. As we remember a man who famously fought for the civil rights of American citizens, it is important to remember Martin Luther King Jr. both in word and deed, to use the resources at hand to educate oneself on and vote to establish the civil right of safety in the workplace.