For many families, when their loved ones go to work, it isn't promised they will return home.

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - For many families, when their loved ones go to work, it isn't promised they will return home. During the Decatur Workers' Memorial, community members honor the lives lost on the job.

"More than 380 workers are killed, and more than 8,600 suffer injuries and illnesses because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable," one speaker said.  

Organizers said safe jobs save lives. 

"It's a reminder to everybody that safety is everybody's responsibility. That, it's not just the employee, but it's also the employer's responsibility to make sure that everybody goes to work and comes home in the same condition," said Lloyd Holman, co-chair of the Mid-Illinois Labor Council.  

This year, the Mid-Illinois Labor Council added Samuel Ward's name to the memorial wall. Ward died in November after an electrocution at the Clinton Power Station. 

"Every time you walk out of that door, you may not come back. But if you happen to come back home to your loved ones or to your home. Thank God for that opportunity, "another speaker said.  

This memorial is not just about remembering those lost, but pushing for safer workplaces, so all workers make it home to their families. 

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