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Although occupational injuries and fatalities are common in the construction industry, a number of factors mediate their occurrence. Richardson, Loomis, Bena, and Bailer (2004) assert that empirical evidence continues to support the notion that division of labor across the United States remains grounded on ethnicity and race, as minority groups experience discrimination (Richardson et al.,2004).
Research about occupational injuries and accidents indicates that the construction industry in the United States is the most hazardous; however, it is a low-paying industry that utilizes human resources from ethnic minorities (Menzel & Gutierrez, 2010). Generally, the construction industry in the United States is among the largest industries, the largest employer, and the most hazardous industries, which contribute to approximately 20% of the annual occupational fatalities reported across the United States (Brunette, 2004).
The Latino community is one of the immigrant communities in the United States that provide essential labor to the construction industry but often considered vulnerable to injuries and fatalities than other ethnicities.
A body of evidence indicates that Latino men, who work in the construction industry, continue to experience higher rates of occupational injuries and related fatalities than other workers do in the United States. In a specific contemporary study, Roelofs et al. (2011) undertook a qualitative investigation about the perspectives of Hispanic workers in the construction industry regarding factors influencing occupational hazards and safety.
Consecutively, using two focus group interviews with Hispanic construction workers, Roelofs et al. . (2011) reveal that Hispanic workers usually have higher risks of occupational injuries than other ethnicities, as 3.7, 3.4, and 3.0 are incidents of injuries per 100,000 workers among the Hispanics, the Whites, and the Blacks respectively.
Moreover, according to Brunette (2014), the Hispanics generally constitute the highest population of the workforce in the construction, which is estimated at 18% of workforce with evidence indicating that Hispanic constructors are steadily rising disproportionately when compared to other ethnicities in the construction industry.
Similar investigations have persisted in several studies to justify the claims of vulnerability of Hispanic construction workers to injuries and fatalities. By using the national census surveillance system to determine workforce fatalities, Richardson et al. (2004, p. 1756) “investigated fatal occupational injury rates in the United States by race and Hispanic ethnicity during the period 1990-1996.” In the Southern parts of the United States, 7.9 cases of fatal injuries in every 100,000 worker-years associated with the Hispanic construction workers, while only 6.9 cases of fatal injuries in every 100,000 worker-years associated with the White construction workers.
Hispanic construction workers do not choose to engage in risky activities of the construction industry as research has investigated the predisposing factors that expose these constructors to such conditions. According to Roelofs et al. (2011), several interrelated factors contribute to a predisposition of Hispanic construction workers to injuries and fatalities in the construction industry. As the immigrant community in the United States, Hispanics are among the marginalized communities.
Researchers have established numerous factors that predispose the Latino male constructors to occupational injuries and accidents. Roelofs et al. (2011) postulate that “language barriers, cultural differences, lack of safety training, economic disadvantage, lack of construction experience, and relegated to the most dangerous jobs within construction are major predisposing factors” (p. 1). Concerning language barrier as a predisposing factor to occupational injuries and fatalities, Latino men akin to other immigrant communities have little linguistic skills in the use of English (Ochsner et al., 2012).
Due to their inability to communicate fluently in English and master safety workplace precautions, their chances of incurring injuries remain relatively high. Menzel and Gutierrez (2010) confirm such notions in an investigation of 30 Latino constructors. Even though companies sometimes provide employees with safety training and some required materials, the translation of language is ordinarily poor and thus Latino constructors hardly comprehend instructions (Menzel & Gutierrez, 2010). Out of the 30 participants, seven mentioned that they felt ashamed of their accent.
Culturally, Latino workers are very industrious, an attribute that make employers in the construction industry to target them. The notion that Latino workers value and embrace hard work puts them in an intolerable environment in the construction industry that is prone to accidents (Ochsner et al., 2012). Traditional values of Latinos embrace hard work and thus predispose Latinos to hazardous work, which is the economic activity of supporting their families.
Apart from language barriers and cultural differences, construction industries have little concern for the welfare of the Latino constructors. According to Brunette (2004), low education and lack of appropriate and effective safety training are significant issues that dispose Latino male constructors to occupational injuries and fatalities. Socioeconomic inequalities are among the significant factors that force the Latino male constructors to engage in risky undertakings solely to provide for their families (Richardson et al., 2004).
Competence and skills determine the effectiveness and alertness of workers in the construction industry. Since Latino workers lack expertise in the construction industry, their chances of causing accidents are relatively high. Latino men rarely hold top management positions in the construction industry and therefore compel them to perform menial jobs, which are not only hazardous but also unproductive.
References
Brunette, M. (2004). Construction safety research in the United States: targeting the Hispanic workforce. Injury Prevention, 10(4), 244–248.
Menzel, N., & Gutierrez, A. (2010). Latino Worker Perceptions of Construction Risks. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53(2), 179–187.
Ochsner, M., Marshall, E., Martino, C., Pabelon, M., Kimmel, L., & Rostran, D. (2012). Beyond the classroom-a case study of immigrant safety liaisons in residential construction. New Solutions, 22(3), 365-386.
Richardson, D., Loomis, D., Bena, J., & Bailer, J. (2004). Fatal Occupational Injury Rates in Southern and Non-Southern States, by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity. American Journal of Public Health, 94(10), 1756-1761.
Roelofs, C., Martinez, L., Brunette, M., & Azaroff, L. (2011). A qualitative investigation of Hispanic construction worker perspectives on factors impacting worksite safety and risk. Environmental Health, 10(84), 1-9.
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