Families, friends, officials honor workers' sacrifices
By ELAINE ROSE
Staff Writer, 609-272-7215
Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY - Hundreds of workers and a dozen area dignitaries paid tribute Friday afternoon to the people who lost their lives in the construction of the resort and to add one more name to the monument to deceased laborers in Kennedy Plaza.People tearfully remembered 29-year-old Peter Borsani, an electrician who died in June after falling from a ladder while working on new stores at Michigan and Baltic avenues, and many wore lapel pins with his picture. Speakers said they hope not to add any more names to the memorial. Friday's ceremony was the 20th annual observance of Workers' Memorial Day, honoring workers who were killed on the job and calling for stronger measures to protect safety in the workplace.The commemoration is about individuals who go to work every day and fight for respect and safety on the job, said Roy Foster, president of the Atlantic-Cape May County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, adding that some unlucky ones don't make it until quitting time.Foster said Borsani didn't go to work June 22 knowing it would be his last day. He intended to give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, and ended up being added to the memorial.
"His name is one too many," Foster said.Many in the crowd wept openly as Borsani's mother, Pat Borsani, spoke about her son.Borsani liked being an electrician and working for Scarpa Electric of Vineland, and was a proud member of Local 351, Pat Borsani said."Pete loved life and enjoyed being with his friends and family," Pat Borsani said. "He may not be here in person, but he's here in spirit with us."Borsani's sister, Tina Borsani, played a tape of her brother's favorite song, "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which was also played at his funeral."If you know this song and you know Pete, you know you couldn't change a thing about him," Tina Borsani said tearfully.Meanwhile, elected officials said tougher safety measures are needed to ensure that no more names are carved into the granite memorial.Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans said Friday was a day to remember those "who paid the ultimate sacrifice for doing what they do every day - go to work."Evans, an Atlantic City firefighter, said he was personally involved with six of the workplace tragedies engraved on the monument, and that the incidents will haunt him for the rest of his life.Only Borsani's family knows what it's like to sit around the table at Thanksgiving and see an empty chair, said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st."There should be no more names on this monument," Andrews said. "No matter how many inspectors it takes ... no matter how many fines it takes to reckless employers, this should be our goal."Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, said the ceremony should serve as a reminder to lawmakers."The reminder of today is we can never allow the private sector on their own to determine workplace safety," LoBiondo said."This city, this county and this country were built on the back of labor, and you are labor," state Sen. Jeff VanDrew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, told the crowd.At the least, working people deserve a fair wage, medical benefits, a dignified retirement and to be safe in the workplace, VanDrew said.State Sen. James Whelan, D-Atlantic, said it is up to the people in suits to continue to bring development to Atlantic City."The main reason we do this is because it creates jobs," Whelan said.The ceremony ended with participants placing flowers at the monument, while the names of the fallen workers were read aloud and the Atlantic City Fire Department Sandpipers Pipes and Drums played "Amazing Grace."To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:ERose@pressofac.com
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