By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—A 23-year-old woman who was crushed to death working at a Fort Wayne factory as well as others killed in their workplace will be remembered during Workers Memorial Day.
Shacarra Hogue died in 2018 while at work at Fort Wayne Plastics when she was cleaning products from inside the machine and a coworker started it.
Rep. Lisa Beck, D- Hebron, introduced House Resolution 30 that makes April 28 Workers Memorial Day to honor and remember workers who have been injured or died while working. The resolution passed the House in a unanimous voice vote.
Beck said between 2010 and 2018 1,100 Indiana workers died from injuries in their workplace.
“I do think this is a decision between employers, employees and the government,†she said of bettering working conditions in Indiana.
This legislative session Beck also authored House Bill 1213 which aimed to increase the penalties of workers who knowingly violate occupational health and safety laws. That bill died without a hearing.
Shacarra Hogue’s mother, Samantha Hogue, was present as Beck announced the resolution. She said her daughter never should have been hurt at work and should have had more protection.
Brett Voohries, president of Indiana AFL-CIO, said he is proud of Beck’s work to create a bipartisan conversation about working conditions in Indiana.
“We need to come to the point where days like the 28th aren’t needed,†he said.
Beck said workers and employees both need to make sure workplaces are safe for everyone, and that these accidents affect not only the workers but families and communities around them.
FOOTNOTE: Victoria Ratliff is a reporter with TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
