RE: Inquiry about Hispanic work accident rate and nature of employer

[Guest guest]

To :

RCI works closely with the building trades union here in Fresno and I have

picked up on a few insights from their director, Doug Whipple, that might be

of use in guiding your research (I have a close friend who works in

construction also). The social relations of non-union, residential

construction here in the San Joaquin Valley have evolved to a model that

mirrors what we see in farm labor. Essentially, contractors are

subcontracting different jobs such as drywalling, roofing, etc. to labor

contractors who have become pretty much dependent on immigrant workers, many

of which are undocumented residents of Mexico. These labor contractors

compete on the basis of bids for the total cost of the job and therefore

have a strong incentive to get their workers to complete the job as quickly

as possible. This is in contrast to unionized commercial work where there

are more clear standards for how long particular jobs are to take, etc. The

level of training differs markedly between these two sets of workers as

well.

Then one has to take into account the other sources of stress that impinge

on Hispanic workers such as being undocumented, etc.

I would argue that this shift in social relations to more and more

subcontracting, driven by a high degree of access to immigrant workers

willing to work their tails off, has the net effect of placing more stress

on employers as well. It creates more entry points for employers to enter

the market and more employers competing with each other.

I hope these limited insights are of some use in helping you think about

which experts to consult. You might give Elaine El-Askari at the Labor

Occupational Health Program at UC Berkeley a call or email regarding her

insights and other experts that you could consult.

Lighthall, Ph.D.

Research Director

Relational Culture Institute

3485 W. Shaw, Suite 103

Fresno, CA 93711

530 304-0038 mobile

559 276-2304 office

559 276-2304 fax

david@...

-----Original Message-----

From: Rousmaniere [mailto:pfr@...]

Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 7:16 PM

Migrant Health Research

Subject: [ ] Inquiry about Hispanic work accident rate

and nature of employer

I am writing to inquire if anyone has information or observations

regarding a possible contributor to the higher injury/fatality rate of

Hispanics in construction and possibly other line of work, when

compared with other work groups. The factor I am trying to study is

thew degree of stress under which the employer operates -- financial

pressure, new company, inexperienced or poor management, etc.

Insurance companies sometimes note that stressed employers have

predictably more injuries -- regardless of their past experience. Is it

possible that Hispanics in construction and other sectors are for some

reason relatively concentrated in stressed employers?

Any comments are most appreciated.

Rousmaniere

508 Woodstock Rd. Suite 4

Woodstock VT 05091

617-308-2961

pfr@...

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