Study: At Work Deaths Higher For Hispanics

Research Shows Hispanics Hold Higher-Risk Jobs; 1 In 3 Deaths Occur In Construction Industry

(AP)  Hispanic workers die at higher rates than other laborers, with 1 in 3 of these deaths occurring in the construction industry, a government study reported Thursday.

Hispanics tend to hold more high-risk jobs than those in other racial groups, but language and literacy barriers and poor training and supervision may also be factors, researchers said. The leading causes of death in recent years have been falls and highway-related accidents.

"Many of the Hispanic workers in construction are undocumented, and many of those who are recently arrived do face a language barrier," said Rakesh Kochhar, associated director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center.

"A language barrier hinders understanding of a job, or the risks associated with it, or safety precautions," said Kochhar, who was not part of the new study.

The study was done by health researchers in Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's being published this week in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The study counted more than 11,000 Hispanic work-related deaths nationwide from 1992-2006. The data were culled from death certificates, police reports, workers' compensation reports and other sources.

The researchers calculated an annual death rate of 5 per 100,000 Hispanic workers in 2006. But the rate for foreign-born Hispanics, roughly 6 per 100,000, was far higher than the 3.5 for those born in the United States.

The rate for non-Hispanic white workers was 4. For blacks, it was 3.7.

"The burden of risk is primarily on foreign-born workers," said Scott Richardson, a Bureau of Labor Statistics program director, in a Thursday telephone press conference about the new report.

From 1992-96, murder on the job was the most common cause of death among Hispanic workers, with crimes like convenience store robberies contributing heavily to that tally.

Then highway accidents became the leading type of work-related fatality. Falls also have become common, and were the leading cause of death in 2000 and 2006.

An analysis of the most recent deaths, from 2003-06, found that 2 of every 3 Hispanic workers who died on the job were foreign-born. That's up from 1992, when immigrants accounted for about half of Hispanic work-related deaths.

In recent years, about 70 percent of the foreign-born fatalities were from Mexico.

In 2003 through 2006, the highest numbers of Hispanic work-related deaths were in California, with 773 deaths; Texas, with 687; and Florida, with 417.

But the highest death rate for Hispanic workers was in South Carolina, at about 23 per 100,000. A recent influx of primarily foreign-born workers might account for that, experts said.

Hispanics make up about 14 percent of the nation's working age population, according to a report this week by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based research organization.

[incog-nito]

DaVicar2: ...and so few of your posts are actually intelligent.

[big_tex4]

If this is really a language issue then Mexico should teach engligh as a primary language and spanish as a second language. Why not? They are headed this way anyway. English should be the native language of all North Americans.

[blackwater66-2009]

Send em back to Mexico than ??? Perhaps the jobs in their own country are safer, ya think ???

[haoli25]

Laziness kills

[questionnews]

If this is really a language issue then Mexico should teach engligh as a primary language and spanish as a second language. Why not? They are headed this way anyway. English should be the native language of all North Americans.

Posted by Big_Tex4 at 12:54 PM : Jun 06, 2008


That sure would help them to be able to read safety instruction.

[zwe453]

FORGET YOU GUYS! GIVE US BACK CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS!
I AND MILLIONS OF MEXICANS WILL FLY THE MEXICAN FLAG!
ON MAY 5TH, I AND MILLIONS OF MEXICANS WILL FLY THE AMERIKKKAN AND CONFEDERATE FLAG UPSIDE DOWN IN PROTEST! VIVA MEXICO!
OBAMA 08!

[zwe453]

DOWN WITH AMERIKKKANS!
VIVA MEXICO!

[zwe453]

ALL MY FELLOW MEXICANS WHO SEE THIS VOTE FOR OBAMA! WE KNOW SEE HOW YOU TREAT US! DOWN WITH MCCAIN!

[zwe453]

AMERIKKKANS NEED TO LEARN SPANISH! ENGLISH SUCKS!
VIVA MEXICO! AND GIVE US BACK TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA BEFORE WE TAKE IT!
VIVA MEXICO!

[bdrlnt4rl]

that is because they are the only ones brave enough and will to work and do the jobs that the fat assss lazy gimme everything right now american. ya know the ones sitting behind their computer screen posting comments.lol

[bdrlnt4rl]

ZWE453

just remember, the americans may not want the jobs the mexicans take, but we are much smarter and that is why we have texas and mexico! viva mexico my black assss

[bdrlnt4rl]

and why would the americans want to give back california and texas just for it to be turned into non working poor nation who will want to swim the red river to get the jobs in oklahoma!!!


and i meant texas and california, not mexico.

[deacon20081]

Interesting there was no mention of the reality that the contractors who use illegal help on projects are less likely to oversee or even have Safety Programs of any kind. Don''t blame the inexperienced workers, place the blame where it belongs, on the shoulders of the companies that refuse to hire experienced and qualified people to save money.

[hardhatmamma]

The Italians, Irish, African Americans. Now the Hispanics. Next the Bulgarians? The hard labor portion of construction is performed by the immigrant or most downtrodden population. Soon Hispanics will be integrated throughout our workforce providing valuable contributions at every level. Right now, that group is in the field. But their children are motivated to go to college. Every parent wants more for their child. I hope that the Hispanics that are working so hard to build a life here will appreciate the opportunity. I hope U.S. born individuals will respect the hard working Hispanic. I hope the children of the Hispanics will appreciate what their parents did to give them better opportunity. It won''t be easy. Just as the Irish, Italian, African American ... the Hispanic will be exposed to racism. It will pass. McCain will help Hispanics. Obama & the unions keep people down. the union bosses make tons of money. In non-union construction, you can start at the bottom & end up as a leader or own a business. McCain will not allow the unions to trick people into joining a union just to pay dues to the politicians & the fat union bosses while being kept down in the laborer positions. Unions don''t belong in firms that promote & develop their people. I''m an educated, white, female, successful construction industry executive. I%u2019m the daughter of a union electrician. my dad would have made a great leader but the union doesn''t let you rise up the ladder into management.

[hardhatmamma]

deacon, commercial contractors do not hire illegals and Hispanics are not cheap labor. We build stadiums, hospitals, highways, stores, and schools. First of all, we are in the high schools begging U.S. born kids to come work for us. Guess what. They don''t want the work. You know what else ... an apprentice carpenter or electrician that is white and U.S. born makes the exact same amount as his Hispanic co-worker. It would be discrimination to pay on different scales. The media will have everyone believe that Hispanics are cheap labor. That is not true. They work harder and more productive as a group. And they are loyal. And, again, that is who answers our help wanted ads.

[bdrlnt4rl]

AMERIKKKANS NEED TO LEARN SPANISH! ENGLISH SUCKS!
VIVA MEXICO! AND GIVE US BACK TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA BEFORE WE TAKE IT!
VIVA MEXICO!

Posted by ZWE453



and why would the americans want to give back california and texas just for it to be turned into non working poor nation who will want to swim the red river to get the jobs in oklahoma!!!

[bdrlnt4rl]

ZWE453

you just have issues because your back is wet.

[hardhatmamma]

Another comment... anyone used e-verify? it is how employers have to check whether someone is allowed to work in this country. Guess what ... it is screwed up. Frosty The Snowman comes up as a U.S. citizen and my friend''s youngest son (a 6th generation American) comes up with a "no-match" social security number as if he is not a citizen. We use it anyways because we%u2019re scared of our government coming in and raiding jobsites. The headlines read %u201Cillegals on jobsite%u201D. They don%u2019t say that there were 800 workers and 2 illegals with professional fake documents. So yes, in a company with 4,000 employees, you might have a dozen that are illegal but have awesome paperwork. But employers aren''t the police. They can%u2019t know the really good fakes from the authentic. We are doing the best we can. oh, and those few illegals, they are good people just trying to get by. And we are paying taxes on them and they are putting into social security on their fake social security number and guess what, they can never claim that money. You know where the illegals are? they are landscaping rich people''s lawns for cash. they are painting your neighbor''s house, they are nannies, housekeepers, janitors, and making cash.

[fishinfool43]

AMERIKKKANS NEED TO LEARN SPANISH! ENGLISH SUCKS!
VIVA MEXICO! AND GIVE US BACK TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA BEFORE WE TAKE IT!
VIVA MEXICO!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ZWE453 at 02:09 PM : Jun 06, 2008
If mexico is so great, why are you here? If you are too ignorant to speak the language of the united states, its not our fault your stupid azzez are dying on the job because of your illiteracy. Press 1 for english, press 2 for border patrol

[fishinfool43]

sure when Hell freezes over

[bdrlnt4rl]

Quetzal666-


the world learns english to work with the english. that is a proven fact. countries all over the world teach their children english in the class rooms.

press 1 for english
2 for the border patrol

the funny thing is is that the illegal immigrants want to learn the english and the ones that are not, are cry babies. strange if you ask me. makes me wonder just who are the serious ones here really wanting to work

[hardhatmamma]

I''ve never posted on something like this before and am getting a little carried away, but there is just so much misinformation out there. i want people to know that the labor part of construction is dangerous. If Bulgarians end up being our next immigrant influx, it will be a news story on Bulgarians having a higher death rate on the job. Some jobs are more dangerous than others.

Regarding language. Please try to speak English. Construction firms, please hire bilingual HR staff %u2026 you need it to protect yourself from hiring illegals and keeping the proper paper trail. It is smart business. Consider %u201CConstruction Spanish%u201D which teaches you safety and construction related Spanish words. It also shows you care about Hispanic employees and guess what, then they are excited about showing off the English they learn. They are coming here and are shocked to find how much Americans are capable of being mean. Be nice. Learn a little about them. They will learn a little about you. It%u2019s so simple. I%u2019m an advocate of this country having an official language of English. Canada is an example of why it is a bad idea to have two languages. It makes things so difficult and it is hard to unite under more than one language. But have patience. Show respect to these men and women doing a hard day%u2019s work and maybe they start learning our language. By the way, their kids will be teaching them the language soon enough. It will all work out. Be patient and be kind.

[bdrlnt4rl]

i dont know of any Illegal who whines more than the
native born........

Posted by Quetzal666

my point is that not what i said

[bdrlnt4rl]

Quetzal666-

and i am sure in your latin american meeting, he will understand and speak english to you out of respect to you.

[bdrlnt4rl]

Quetzal666-

and i am sure in your latin american meeting, he will understand and speak english to you out of respect to you.

[fishinfool43]

The question is...Why is the u.s. catering to them? What is their incentive to learn it. to make it easier for them to get all the freebies and not have to do a dam thing for it. personally i am sick and tired of reading about all the illegals, anchor babies and how they are all trying to screw our system. not to mention 3 or 4 different aliases just to keep their sorry butts in the u.s. i dont think they are entitled to anything other than a free ride back to the border and if they try to get back in, just shoot their sorry butts!!!

[hardhatmamma]

It''s great to be bilingual. Definitely is an asset in most careers. However, Spanish is not the only second language out there. The Middle East and Asia and the Eastern Europeans are coming over and they too struggle with learning English. We can''t have an economy that is muddling along in a dozen different languages. That doesn''t make any sense at all. This is America and we speak English. I''m happy to learn basic Spanish as well as other languages to demonstrate how pleased i am to have new people coming into our country and taking on the jobs that make our world go around. But my goodness, anyone that thinks that our language here is anything other than English is wishing disaster upon our economic system. We''d look like a bunch of fools to our competitors across the world. Come together. Be respectful. Learn something about immigrant populations. Immigrants learn English and you will rise up in this country. Remember, the next big language could be Bulgarian for all we know and we''ll be fighting over press 2 for Bulgarian.

[fishinfool43]

Posted by HardHatMamma at 03:20 PM : Jun 06, 2008

I agree with what you are saying. There are many other languages in this world, but show me another country that will cater to the english speaking people, unless they wany your money. In most cultures they are offended if you dont speak their native language. Why should the u.s. citizens have to put up with it being crammed down our throats. maybe it''s all the big shots that hire all the illegals to come here to work for pennies on the dollar?

[hardhatmamma]

Does everyone out there think all Hispanics are illegal? The majority have their papers to work. Some have high-end fakes that even our government has trouble identifying (those people are here to work and invest in our society and they tend to know English quicker than any other group) and then there are some hoodlums who are trouble makers. And there are those Hispanics that rich people hire to tend to their lawns and kids and houses and pay in cash. Both the hoodlums and those paid in cash are a drain on our society. But leave the people that are here working and paying taxes alone. do you think construction firms pay their people cash? No we pay taxes on everyone. Get your facts straight. The media is a part of the problem. Don''t take everything they say as truth. Vote for McCain.

[acolton1]

Why do Illegal Mexicans drive in the left lane and go way under the speed limit. I am seeing this more and more on the Interstate Highways.

Are they completely clueless and stupid.

[hardhatmamma]

wait. nobody is getting pennies on the dollar unless they are working for mr and mrs rich person as a nanny, lawn boy, etc. why don''t you ask around and find out what those laborers are making? why don''t you ask what that electrician, that mason, that plumber makes? you''ll be surprised. guess what, most get benefits. and again they are paying taxes. they make the same as the rare white kid that comes in and wants to work from the ground up. most are like me and went the college route. bottom line is that this is all temporary. the media makes you think that Spanish is the second language. that is bull. as soon as the Hispanic is educated (wait another two generations and this will be complete) then you don''t have the issue anymore. press one for English, press two for Russian and three for Bulgarian ... it is temporary. The immigrant''s children learn English in school. The problem will pass.

[acolton1]

HardHatMamma

McCain = McBush and another 4 years.

[hardhatmamma]

How do you people think you magically know who is legal and who is illegal? that is foolish. Majority are here legally. My goodness people. You make Americans look foolish. English is our language. Learn it. But understand you temporarily need to get the first generations through with some support of Spanish use. Taxes need to be paid. So don''t hire people to work in your home for cash. After that, chill out and be happy you aren''t digging that ditch.

[fishinfool43]

Dont get me wrong hard hat, i am all for immigration. all i want is to see them doing it legally. If they have a criminal background they should be denied entry

[hardhatmamma]

Obama = the unions. the unions take money from the workers. those workers are set up against management. they never get to rise higher. they are kept down. their union dues go to union bosses who live in mansions. and to the democratic party.

[hardhatmamma]

of course criminal background should be denied. and i wish i could show everyone how much effort goes into checking for legality. if U.S. citizens were willing to do the work, we would hire them. it is so much easier. we have to hire staff just to do the paperwork and make sure people are legal to work.

[hardhatmamma]

Bush is an idiot by the way. I just want to make that clear. But McCain is actually a balanced Republican. I think he will serve us better in transitioning out of the crummy situation our country finds itself in regarding foreign policy and economy. Give him a chance and take a look at just how different he is from Bush

[fishinfool43]

well if you got rid of the estimated 11 million illegals, we more than likely wouldn''t have 5% unemployment, and our health care wouldn''t be as much

[geegeemama]

fishinfool43
I''m from Europe and I can tell you that any company will speak to you in the actual language of the country plus English, French, Italian or what ever other language. Mather of fact is that you won''t get any good job unless you speak a least other language in a very high level. I have people in my country from Germany, living there for 15 years and they don''t know how to speak the native language...
Lots of people in this country don''t know how to speak proper English anyway!!!

[fishinfool43]

Posted by geegeemama at 03:46 PM : Jun 06, 2008

that may be so, but how many illegal mexicans do you have there?

[hardhatmamma]

Okay. This suburban soccer mom / executive / white lady needs to get back to work. I''ve never participated in an exchange like this before and now I understand why kids are so addicted to these chat websites, etc. It''s nice to live in a country where we can share our opinions. I''m signing off saying that I''m proud of my country''s language, ENGLISH. I''m proud of today''s immigrants, primarily Hispanic in my industry, who are kind, smart, brave, hardworking, loyal, and fun. I%u2019m proud of my industry that bends over backwards to hire people who are legal to work but gets intimidated by our government because our government can%u2019t fix the problem. I%u2019m scared of how open our borders are and hope that people with evil intent do not come through. I%u2019m disgusted by rich people who hire illegals to cut their grass tax-free and then cuss the system and blame it on companies that are doing things right. I''m proud to be an American. God Bless America.

[geegeemama]

"well if you got rid of the estimated 11 million illegals, we more than likely wouldn''''t have 5% unemployment, and our health care wouldn''''t be as much
Posted by fishinfool43"

Well let me disagree with you opinion. I really believe that the system in USA do not permitted illegal%u2019s workers get away with non taxes payment. The fact is they do pay taxes because the IRS give them the tax number, so even if they''r illegal they still to pay taxes, and who pay taxes is supporting the social security%u2026

[fishinfool43]

have a great day hard hat!!! hope I didnt offend you

[fishinfool43]

no, the problem lies with the people that pay them cash and the govt never sees a dime of that money just to get it sent or carried back across the border

[geegeemama]

Well I''m currently living here in USA, but in my country the 15% of the population are immigrants, many without documents (meaning illegally), but they still humans to us, we do not put them in jails, because they do not belong with killer, rapists, drug dealers%u2026, may of them come from south American countries and other from Africa. If you see the conditions they living like in theirs countries you never tall bad about them anymore.
Anyway is funny that this country has anything to say at all about immigration when this continent is filling with people who emigrated from other countries%u2026

[geegeemama]

Well I''m currently living here in USA, but in my country the 15% of the population are immigrants, many without documents (meaning illegally), but they still humans to us, we do not put them in jails, because they do not belong with killer, rapists, drug dealers%u2026, may of them come from south American countries and others from Africa. If you see the conditions they living like in theirs countries you never talk bad about them anymore.
Anyway is funny that this country has anything to say at all about immigration when this continent is filling with people who emigrated from other countries%u2026

[fishinfool43]

well one thing i know for sure, my ancestors came here legally, worked hard and learned the language, and i will not try to stop anyone, no matter what nationality, that wants to be here legally.

[geegeemama]

fishinfool43
That%u2019s not even true!!! That was no such of thing as come here legal or illegally, hahaha this continent were a bunch of colonies of different countries!!!, is sad you don%u2019t even know your own history or the history of this country. Many people who came here didn%u2019t even have legal documentation in their own country how you thing they come her legally?

[geegeemama]

fishinfool43
That%u2019s not even true!!! That was no such of thing as come here legal or illegally, hahaha this continent were a bunch of colonies of different countries!!!, is sad you don%u2019t even know your own history or the history of this country. Many people who came here didn%u2019t even have legal documentation in their own country how do you think they come here legally?

[stupidrules3]

I''m not surprised that the death rate on the job is higher among Hispanics. They take more chances. I saw 2 guys stick a 2x10 out a window and while the bigger one stood on the end (the best part of their whole plan), the other one went out on the board to work on the window. They have less of a concern for safety that I have witnessed many times.

geegeemama, I have to disagree with you about the tax thing. These guys work for cash and no taxes are withheld from their pay. They are not covered by workman''s compensation insurance, and they will quit if you tell them you have to withhold taxes and social security on them. I work in the construction industry and see this happen regularly.