Published: 02.14.2007
Communication key to workers' safety
Hispanics prone to work deaths, injuries
State's construction field faces the biggest problem
CHAD GRAHAM and MATT DEMPSEY - The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
Arizona's construction industry has fueled some of the fastest growth in the nation, but it is killing and injuring Hispanic workers at a greater rate than it is the overall work force.
As builders try to curb the problem, solutions aren't coming easily across the cultural and language divide.
Between 2003 and 2005, the number of Hispanics injured across all occupations rose to 8,760 from 5,510, a 59 percent increase.
Injuries for all races in all occupations rose in the period to 23,780 from 19,690, a 21 percent increase.
In the period, Hispanic deaths in the overall workforce more than doubled to 36 from 17.
The total work force saw a jump in deaths to 99 from 80.
The construction industry accounted for more than one-quarter of all injuries in 2005, more than any other sector.
The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health has 24 safety and health inspector positions for roughly 2.1 million workers employed by 130,000 companies.
At any given time, about three-fourths of those jobs are filled.
As a result, the number of investigations conducted by the agency fell to 1,440 in 2005 from 1,967 in 2003.
"Arizonawide, I would (rate safety) at about a six on a 10-point scale, but it varies from company to company," said Rick Lake, district manager for Empire Communities, an Ontario, Calif.-based builder with projects in Arizona.
Industry experts maintain that most Arizona construction companies are doing their best to provide adequate safety training, but communication breakdowns, cultural misunderstandings and other lapses are going to happen.
SCF Arizona, the state's largest workers' compensation insurance carrier, has seen injury claims for all workers in all industries jump from 56,000 in 2005 to 65,000 in 2006, spokesman Rick DeGraw said.
"Hispanics probably have the highest injury rate in more dangerous jobs of any other ethic group," DeGraw said. "Many of them are newer workers. Newer workers usually have higher injury rates than older workers.
"Many of them are given the jobs that other people don't want, whether it's the trench job or the crawling-under-the-house job or the climbing-a-really-tall-ladder job."
The situation can turn deadly more often if the workers speak little or no English.
"You might know how to do all the electrical work in the world, but when you see something in the electrical box written in English and you don't speak English, it doesn't mean anything. Do you catch all the nuances?" DeGraw asked.
Workplace fatalities in the U.S. decreased between 2004 and 2005, and the number of injuries stayed the same, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
There were 1,186 construction deaths in the period, the most of any industry and about 1 in 5 of every work fatality recorded.
The number of fatalities among Hispanic workers increased to 917, a record.
The Department of Labor created the OSHA Hispanic Taskforce to address the increasing number of injuries and fatalities in the Hispanic workforce.
A study released last year by UCLA and the University of Illinois at Chicago found that 1 in 5 Hispanic day laborers reported a work-related injury and more than half did not receive medical care.
The study recommended greater protections for workers, better safety checks and increased access to legal services.
In Arizona, anyone can file complaints with state investigators and can collect workers' compensation regardless of status.
One of the most perplexing problems facing Arizona construction companies is communicating with workers who speak little or no English.
It's a major reason why thousands of Hispanic workers are injured and dozens are killed each year in the state.
Safety handbooks may be written in Spanish, for example, but specific words may not translate across cultures. Workers, worried about their illegal status, may claim they understand directions that are unclear.
Day laborers, plucked from a parking lot, may not even know English words for basic tools and words such as "stop" or "help."
It can be deadly if they work for a contractor who doesn't make time for training.
Frazzled foremen may not understand the importance of taking time to greet workers.
How are three Arizona companies helping facilitate better communication in construction?
● ConstructNet International Inc., a spinoff of the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, has launched a one-of-a-kind online training series for Hispanic workers and companies.
The first program in a series, "Welcome to the Jobsite," teaches Spanish-speakers basic job interview skills, words for basic tools, safety equipment usage and cultural differences in the U.S. workplace.
Each participant can log on from any computer to complete the 15-hour class, which typically will be paid for by companies. It costs between $95 and $115 per person, depending on how many are enrolled.
Contact: (480) 346-4233 or (480) 346-4205 (Spanish speakers) or www .constructnetonline.com.
● SCF Arizona, the state's largest workers' compensation insurer, will continue its standard safety outreach for its 56,000 policyholders. In 2006, it counted 1,500 people at its safety expos, 1,100 people attended 74 safety sessions and 2,000 requested specific safety information.
It has launched a $350,000 effort called the 2007 Spanish Speaking Worker Safety Campaign.
Contact: www.scfaz.com.
● HispanoAmerican Communications in Gilbert launched two years ago and has seen business spike as companies realize they must increasingly translate materials such as safety procedures into Spanish. Clients include construction companies, the USDA Forest Service and software firms. The company contracts with translators who have master's degrees from around the world.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/41848.php