Here is a press release from the American Federation of State,  County and Municipal Employees.   Unions Point To Deadly Workplaces; AFSCME, Other Unions Commemorate Workers Memorial Day  To: National Desk, Labor Writer  Contact: Janet Rivera of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, 202-429-1130     WASHINGTON, April 23 -- The American Federation of State,  County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and other unions of the AFL-CIO on Wednesday, April 28, will commemorate the fifth annual Workers Memorial Day -- a day to pay homage to the 6 million workers who are killed, injured, or diseased on the job.    This year, AFSCME will focus its Workers Memorial Day efforts an the dangerous environment in which corrections officers must work. Earlier this month, an AFSCME corrections officer, Robert Vallandingham, was killed by inmates who overtook the corrections facility in Lucasville, Ohio.    The law and order agenda of the 1980s has resulted in a steady increase in the prison population for the past five years.  On Jn. 1, 1992, the prison population was 709,587. Projections show a continued increase in the number of inmates, with an expected prison population of 811,253 in 1994.    The conditions which this burgeoning prison population has created for corrections officers is partially reflected in the number of assaults by inmates against staff.  Assaults against staff increased dramatically between 1987 and 1989, and remain high.  In 1987, there were 808 assaults by inmates against staff, compared to 9,961 such assaults in 1991.    The increased number of inmates has brought on the dangerous combination of overcrowding and understaffing.  For example in Ohio officer-to-inmate ratio is 1 to 8.4 -- the second worst ratio in the nation. The national average is 1 to 5.3.  Other health and safety issues facing corrections officers include AIDS, Hepatitis B, tuberculosis, stress, and chemical hazards.    AFSCME has more than 50,000 members who work in the nation's federal, state and local correctional facilities.    Correction officers are not alone in performing their jobs under life-threatening conditions.  Every year, 10,000 American workers die from job-related injuries, and tens of thousands more die from occupational disease.  Public employees do some of the nation's most dangerous jobs. Perilous occupations include:     -- Highway Workers - Highway workers are often injured and       frequently killed by moving traffic because work zones are       not barricaded or don't have proper lighting.    -- Health Care Workers - Hospitals have the highest number of       job-related injuries and illnesses of any private sector       employer and nursing homes ranked fifth.  There were more       than 325,000 job-related illnesses and injuries in private       sector hospitals in 1991, up almost 10 percent over the       previous year.  It is generally believed that health care       workers employed at public sector hospitals and nursing homes       have a significantly higher rate of injuries and illnesses       than do their private sector counterparts.  Health and safety       issues facing health care workers include exposure to       tuberculosis and the HIV virus, back injuries, and high       levels of stress.    -- Social Workers - Social workers who work in mental health       institutions are often the victims of assaults and,       sometimes, fatal attacks.  For instance, last October, a man       carrying a semiautomatic handgun walked into the Schuyler       County Social Services Building in Watkins Glenn, N.Y.       and fatally shot social services workers, before turning the       gun on himself.  There are two basic problems.  First is a       growing lack of support services for people who don't have       the help they need.  Because workers are overworked, some       clients are not given the adequate amount of counselling.       Such conditions may cause clients to become more frustrated.       The "quality" of the clients is also becoming more violent,       as more are moved out of the institutions.     Nearly 2 million workers have been killed by workplace hazards since OSHA was passed.  Moreover, as AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee explains, OSHA does not provide workplace safety protections for public employees.    "More than 1,600 public employees are killed each year on the job, yet 27 states still provide no federally-approved OSHA coverage for public employees," said McEntee.  "This, despite the fact that public employees -- highway workers, health care workers, corrections officers, to name but a few -- do some of the most dangerous work in our society.  This year we are fighting for passage of OSHA reform legislation to give all workers greater rights and protections, and finally guarantee all public employees safe workplaces.  We need the public support to be successful."    Government workers suffer 25 percent more injuries than private sector workers, and these injuries are almost 75 percent more severe.    Public employees were exempted from OSHA when the law was passed in 1970 and today, public employees in more than half the states have no OSHA coverage.  -30-