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West Alabama Labor Council, AFL-CIO

        
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Affiliates | Tuscaloosa | State Representatives | U.S. Representatives

Workers Memorial Commons

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“The sculpture symbolizes strength, unity, and perseverance. The stylized bronze arms are inclusive of any and every type of worker. The arms support one another and push upwards giving the arms a feeling of lightness, being uplifted, and lively with hope and determination. The arms extend out and up from the rubble to illustrate the unrelenting drive of humans to rise and rebuild time and time again.” Mara Lattanzi

Workers Memorial Project

During the spring of 2002, while the cleanup and recovery operations were under way at the World Trade Center in New York City, the West Alabama Labor Council thought it would be great if we could get a section from one of the twin towers for a workers memorial. We could construct the memorial here in the west Alabama area to honor all workers killed or injured in the work place. We contacted our representative in Washington, D.C. with the idea and before we knew it we had what we wanted. We were faced with the task of getting a seven-foot piece of I-Beam that weighed approximately 1000 lbs out of New York City and home to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We worked with another central labor body in Atlanta, Georgia and with the help of a Teamsters local in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania had it delivered to the central labor body in Atlanta, Georgia. We had agreed to share the treasured piece with them in exchange for their help. It was cut in half and our section continued its journey to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. At that time we had a press conference and tried to get the Mayor of Tuscaloosa and the City Council to agree to use the section of I-Beam in a memorial to commemorate Workers Memorial Day. Well, it did not happen and the section of I-Beam was put into storage.
On September 11, 2006 we received a call from the City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama after a Birmingham, Alabama TV station had contacted them, inquiring about the I-Beam. In October, 2006 we put together a workers memorial committee to explore possible locations and uses for the memorial. After looking at several locations on RiverWalk in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the committee agreed the old Parker Towing Company location was the best location for the memorial. Once the site was located, the committee teamed up with the Art Department of the University of Alabama to design a memorial that would please the city and enhance the RiverWalk area of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Where Now?

The next step for the workers memorial committee is to work on securing construction drawings for the project. The committee met and discussed the construction drawings and what would be required to proceed with the construction of the memorial. The committee was told it had two options. The committee could secure the funding and turn the project over to the City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the city would bid the project just like any other project, but the City of Tuscaloosa could not use any public funds. The other option would be to construct the project with in-kind donations. Using in-kind donations would involve using individuals, organizations, companies or corporations willing to contribute to the project. Those in-kind donations would allow everyone involved with the memorial to share a sense of ownership. The committee believes this option is more fitting for a memorial that commemorates all that were killed or injured at work. The RiverWalk Project Phase IA is scheduled for bid soon, but that should not interfere with the workers memorial project.                              Handout updated 5-28-2007(pdf format)

          © 2007 WALC