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March 5, 2008
The US Department of Labor’s most recent count of workplace deaths saw an increase in a single demographic group: Hispanic/Latino workers.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries of 2006 tells us that 937 of them were killed on the job--the highest death toll since the survey began in 1992. A five-minute story that aired this Sunday on National Public Radio shines a cultural/linguistic light on the findings:
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that in 2006, there were nearly 1,000 Latino workplace-related deaths in the U.S. That's the highest number since…the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting the data.
"It doesn't surprise me to hear that statistic," says Len Welsh, chief of Cal-OSHA. He says his agency is largely complaint-driven, and he says Latinos often don't complain.
"Union shops are more likely to complain to us about hazards than non-union shops, and workers who are native speakers of English are more likely to complain to us than workers who are not."
Welsh says Cal-OSHA and other OSHA agencies across the country have been reaching out to Latino labor and community organizations over the past decade. The groups can then act as intermediaries, encouraging Latino workers to report dangerous work conditions, so OSHA knows where to investigate.
If you can get your hands on Spanish-language flyers or information sheets from analogous agencies in your area, and can make them available in your library’s foyer or freebie rack, more power to you. You just might save a life.
Here’s cheerier news. Judy Fazon, who won our contest last month and got a couple fine pastries from the legendary DeAlba bakery here in McAllen, wrote "A Tale of Two Empanadas" in the blog of the forward-looking St. Joseph County Public Library up in South Bend, Indiana. Judy told me that "we sliced and diced them so many people had a chance to taste them."
SJCPL’s blog is a terrific spot for users and staff of that library to keep up with services, books, music, and more. Plus the versatile Judy sometimes blogs there in Spanish, too.
Posted by Bruce Jensen on March 5, 2008 | Comments (0)
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