Atlantic City Workers Monument

Marker is located in Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk, across from Boardwalk Hall

1998 Marker text:
Dedicated to the men and women of organized labor who lost their lives while working on the redevelopment of Atlantic City.
We honor these workers.

[List of 25 names follow]

"You will always be remembered"

Erected April 28, 1998 by the members of the Atlantic - Cape May County CLC–AFL–CIO on behalf of their fallen brothers and sisters.

2004 Marker Text:
Rededicated April 30, 2004

The Atlantic & Cape May County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council dedicates this Workers' Memorial Monument to honor all Union workers who lost their lives on the job since the establishment of the casino industry in Atlantic City.

The new monument and its commemorative inscriptions have been rededicated with a bronze statue at its new location to honor the memory of those who died on October 30, 2003 at the Tropicana garage collapse.

The officers and delegates of the Central Labor Council wish to thank the City of Atlantic City, the Unions and their members, contractors, businesses, casinos and the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties who contributed to the creation of this beautiful tribute.

We would especially like to thank the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for their generosity.

Roy M. Foster
President

Arthur J. Schenker
Secretary/Treasurer

Additional information:
Atlantic City's original Workers Memorial, a tribute to all those who have died in the process of building the city since the casino industry began, was dedicated in 1998 and stood at the foot of the Atlantic City Expressway. At this stage, the Memorial only included the small monument listing the names of the fallen workers. Following the deaths of four men in the collapse of an under-construction parking garage in 2003, the Memorial was moved and rededicated at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk on April 30, 2004. New elements of the Memorial include a new plaque, flower beds, and an eight-foot tall bronze statue of a construction worker whose hand is outstretched to the monument bearing the original list of names, plus the names of the four killed in the garage collapse. The statue was sculpted by Thomas Jay Warren, the same artist who also designed and sculpted elements of the Korean War Memorial further down the Boardwalk at Brighton Park. The date of dedication for the monument was chosen as the closest friday to April 28th, Worker's Memorial Day. The ceremonies began with a march of solidarity on the Boardwalk from those workers who escaped the garage collapse, and also included the presentation by the Firefighters' Union of a plaque recognizing those who had stayed behind during the collapse to aid rescue efforts. The audience at the dedication included hundreds of Union workers, firefighters, and police. Today, the area around the monument at Kennedy Plaza is used to showcase important figures and events in local Union history.

For more information, see articles from:
Atlantic City Press, April 29, 2004 and May 1, 2004
Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1, 2004