The death of a worker at the site of the new St. Paul Saints ballpark drew national attention Tuesday at the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles.

According to news reports, 61-year-old John Valek of Plymouth was killed about 8:10 a.m. during a “partial building collapse” at the former Gillette/Diamond Products plant in Lowertown. Valek was an employee of Rachel Contracting of St. Michael, Minn., which was helping to tear down the building to make way for the new ballpark.

Rachel is a union subcontractor working under the direction of general contractor Ryan Companies, which also is unionized, the Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council confirmed. Valek, a backhoe operator, was a member of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49.

Delegates to the labor federation’s national convention were discussing a resolution on health and safety when AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka interrupted the proceedings to announce Valek’s death.

The announcement came during emotional testimony about the deaths of more than a thousand factory workers in the recent collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh, the massive suffering of coal miners due to black lung and the workplace violence endured by taxi cab drivers, among others.

Delegates to the convention observed a moment of silence to remember all those killed and injured on the job.

They also reaffirmed the labor movement’s commitment to fighting for safer workplaces, adopting a resolution stating “The right to a safe job is a fundamental worker right.

“But in too many workplaces around the world, employers’ push for production and profits and disregard for workers’ safety puts workers’ lives in danger . . . The union movement must join with allies—safety and health activists and advocates, family members, worker centers, public interest organizations—to seek stronger safety and health protections and rights for all workers.”