January 24, 2003—The majority of immigrant workers surveyed recently in Southern California said they had experienced work-related injuries or illnesses, but only two thirds had reported these to their employers. Those who did not report gave a variety of reasons for not doing so, including concern that their employer would retaliate against them.
Most of those interviewed—90 percent—worried that they would get injured on the job. They worried about the possibility of immediate symptoms, injuries, and illnesses, as well as long term effects from exposures to chemicals and poor ergonomic conditions.
Workers in each industry said they turn to co-workers, immigrant worker advocacy groups, or labor unions when they need help or information. Only seven of the seventy-five knew of Cal-OSHA (the state organization enforcing workplace health and safety) but none of these had contacted this agency for assistance.
The survey, conducted by the UCLA-Labor Occupational Safety & Health (UCLA-LOSH) Program, consisted of in-depth interviews with immigrant workers in six industries in Southern California between January and October 2001. The industries included day labor, domestic work, garment work, homecare, and hotel and restaurant work.
For a four-page policy brief or the 66-page report, “Voices From the Margins: Immigrant Workers’ Perceptions of Health and Safety in the Workplace,” with a separate 200-page statistical appendix, visit UCLA-LOSH.
