LEWISTON – One by one, a name was read Saturday, followed by the ringing of a solemn bell as the audience remained silent.

“Glen Dunlap.”

“Lawrence Noyes.”

“Peter Lawson.”

“James Lightbody.”

During the Workers Memorial Day/May Day Labor Breakfast on Saturday, 34 Maine workers who died on the job in 2007 were honored.

The breakfast and ceremony were held at the Museum L-A in the Bates Mill Complex. As each name was read aloud, someone stood holding a card with the name of the fallen worker.

Twenty of the workers died from work-related injuries, Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said.

Among them was Allan Parsons of Wilton. Parsons was a 46-year-old medic working on a patient on Route 4 last July when a drunken driver crashed his truck into the ambulance. Parsons was killed on impact.

Another worker, James Lightbody, 32, of Strong, was killed by a wood chipper. Lightbody was working for a tree company last May in Dallas Plantation. A safety cover ripped from its hinges, hitting Lightbody in the chest.

Another 14 workers died after suffering heart attacks on the job. Among those was Arthur Carmichael, 46, of Lewiston, who died July 30 from a massive coronary at work. Carmichael worked for a construction company.

The Maine Department of Labor has the responsibility of tracking what happens to Maine workers, said Fortman, one of Saturday’s speakers. While recognizing fallen workers as the April 28 Worker Memorial Day nears, this year workers who died from heart attacks on the job are also being remembered, Fortman said.

Those fatal heart attacks aren’t necessarily tied to their jobs, Fortman said. But as the work force changes, stress connected with jobs do take a toll on people. As the commissioner spoke, she stood before a mural depicting Lewiston mill workers, inside a room where workers once wove fabric for clothing and bedspreads.

As the economy worsens, it’s increasing despair and taking a toll on displaced workers, Fortman said. “We have had four suicides of dislocated workers within the last eight months … My staff who go out there and work with dislocated workers feel there is a direct connection between a sense of being overwhelmed and hopeless and the fact these people are no longer with us.”

Fortman asked the audience to remember those who have lost their jobs and need a sense of hope “that can come from being in a room like this.”

She lauded work done by unions, saying they have made working conditions better for all workers. “Without unions we would not have things like the eight-hour day,” Fortman said. “Thank you for everything you do every single day for making Maine a better place for working people.”

The breakfast and worker memorial was sponsored by the Western Maine Labor Council, the AFL-CIO and Museum L-A.

Other speakers included U.S. Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud, both D-Maine, and labor historian Charlie Scontras. Awards were given to individuals and groups that have helped the plight of workers: Roland Gosselin of Lewiston, the Lewiston Housing Authority and MSEU SEIU Kids First.

Music was provided by Ethan Miller, Cynthia Phinney, Mike Roland and Wayne Hollingworth, who performed “Bring Back the 8-Hour Day” and “Solidarity Forever.” Breakfast was by culinary arts students of the Lewiston Regional Technical Center. They were applauded for the meal they provided.