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Immigrant Workers At Risk

Staff Writer — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:29:16 GMT

According to the Hofstra University Labor Review, there has been an increase in the number of foreign-born workers in the U.S. in the last twenty years. Since 1990, foreign-born workers have increased in the labor force by 9.4 %. There is also a trend of foreign-born workers taking higher risk construction jobs. The number of fatalities among immigrant workers has risen from 635 in 1992 to 1,046 in 2007. Many of these immigrant workers are afraid to report injuries for fear of either losing their job or being deported by the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). A few years ago, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created a program to encourage illegal workers to report injuries without the fear of losing a job or being deported. Unfortunately, the OSHA was being used by ICE agents as a decoy in order to arrest and deport undocumented workers. In 2005, a sting operation was set up at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina by ICE agents in order to arrest and deport undocumented construction workers under the disguise of an OSHA outreach session. The sting operation was a success for ICE, as 48 illegal immigrant workers were arrested and deported. Even though the undocumented workers were deported, the construction contractors were not penalized for their illegal conduct. The sting operation was unanimously condemned by labor and immigration rights officials and many took the set up as an example of the lack of concern the Bush administration has for worker safety.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Work-Related Injury Deaths Among Hispanics- United States, 1992-2006

Michael Levine — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:44:07 GMT

According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, undocumented workers deal with very hazardous conditions resulting in injuries. 70 % of undocumented workers are Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanic workers die at a 25 % higher rate than workers of other races. In 2006, 19.6 million workers in the United States were Hispanic, 56 % of whom were foreign-born. From 1992 to 2006, a total of 11,303 Hispanic workers died from work-related injuries. From 2003 to 2006, 34 % of Hispanic worker deaths occurred in the construction industry. Aside from 1995, the annual work-related injury death rate for Hispanic workers exceeded the rate for all U.S. workers every year during the period of 1992 to 2006. In 2006, the work-related injury death rate for Hispanic workers was 5.0 per 100,000 compared to 4.0 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic workers. During 2003 to 2006, the most common industries employing Hispanics who died from work-related injuries were construction (34 %), administrative and waste services (11 %), fishing/hunting (10 %), and transportation/warehousing (10 %). The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuires (CFOI) and the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) were responsible for the statistics in this summary.

While this report is startling, there are four limitations to this data:

1) The number of deaths among Hispanic workers is probably understated. Seven in ten undocumented workers in the United States are Hispanic. Many Hispanic workers are unwilling to report job-related injuries due to language barriers or a fear of being fired.

2) Hispanic ethnicity might have been misclassified in the CFOI, which relies on secondary data sources, and also in CPS, which uses a single reporter for all household members.

3) Hispanic workers might be undercounted in the CPS, which relies on stable residences for sequential interviews and largely collects data via telephone.

4) Hispanic workers, especially those who are foreign born, might be more willing to perform tasks that have a higher risk involved out of a fear of being unemployed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

Queen Creek Construction Accident Crushes Worker's Arm

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:08:00 GMT

A 44-year-old construction worker suffered injury when his arm was crushed in a construction accident at a Queen Creek construction site on Tuesday.

The accident happened when the worker reached his arm into a piece of equipment to clean something that he thought had become stuck. At which point his arm became caught in the roller, crushing it severely between the shoulder and elbow, according to an official with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The worker was transported by helicopter to Scottsdale Osborn Hospital where he was listed in serious condition. The construction site is the future location of a Jack in the Box restaurant.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) along with local officials will be investigating the accident further. No one else was injured in the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole