Uncertain safety for Latino workers – Construction job fatality rates exceed those for other groups, and many are reluctant to complain

Hundreds of Latino workers across the U.S. die annually in construction accidents, a toll that has mounted steadily. Two years ago 354 Latinos were killed in construction accidents, a 34 percent increase over 2003, the most recent government statistics show. More than one out of three Latinos killed on the job in 2006 lost their lives doing construction work, a far higher proportion than for white or black workers.

And as Latinos have flooded into the U.S., their fatality rates in construction have steadily exceeded those of non-Hispanic workers, although both proportions have trended down of late for full-time workers Many of the Latinos killed or hurt are like Lopez, who is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. They tend to hunker down in the shadows fearful of being caught. Many can’t speak English. Even those who do rarely point out on-the-job dangers because they desperately want the money.”*

*From: www.chicagotribune.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

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