It is fairly easy to lose sight of what's really important about work in America on Labor Day 2002.

        Because of the challenges of dealing with bosses, co-workers, daily tasks, monthly goals, retirement worries, family needs and the mini-van that needs better air conditioning, it's easy to lose sight of a global picture:

        Work still kills millions of workers each year.

        Work-related accidents, diseases and injuries claim about 2 million people each year, according to a 2002 report from the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency that focuses on social justice and worker rights.

        Accidents kill about 350,000 people annually and for every fatal accident, there are about 1,000 non-fatal injuries that will lead to a drop in earnings and a rise in disabilities and poverty for workers and their families.

        The grim toll from work, the organization says, is mostly due to unsafe work practices. Break the numbers down and the organization estimates that some 5,000 workers die each day. That's three a minute.

        It is easy to forget those staggering numbers in our land of plenty.

        According to the ILO's SafeWork program, work kills more people than alcohol and drugs together. Big workplace killers are the hazardous substances that surround many blue-collar workers. They cause an estimated 340,000 deaths each year.

        Other deaths are linked to exposure to daily occupational hazards such as diesel, dust, chemicals and radiation that bring about cancers, heart diseases and strokes.

        So the next time you think about whining over the cold coffee, the arrogance of a harried boss and his $50 razor haircut, or the length of a commute in bumper-to-bumper traffic, consider this:

        Most American workers have a pretty good thing going on.

        Just when folks thought that companies had the edge over workers on hiring and compensation questions, a new survey shows that employees with college degrees still have the upper hand.

        Marc Drizin, an employee loyalty specialist at Indianapolis-based Walker Information, says there is a growing demand for highly educated and skilled workers.

        “Cincinnati is a tight labor market these days,” says Mr. Drizin, a 1980 graduate of Walnut Hills High School and a 1985 graduate of the University of Cincinnati.

        “Most people don't realize 16- to 19-year-olds are included in the national unemployment rate, and their rate is at 17.7 percent,” he said. “But when you get rid of the kids, who, by the way, stay in a job for nine months, the adult unemployment rate is 5.2 percent.

        “Workers still hold the majority of the power. In the last six months, some 30,000 people were added to the labor force in Cincinnati but employment rose 30,000.”

        The Labor Day takeaway? What Mom told us was true, he says.

        “The best way to get ahead is to get an education. For people who have a college degree, the unemployment rate is 2.9 percent, about half the national unemployment rate.”

        E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/eckberg.

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