Immigrant workers seen at increased risk
Community tries to raise awareness
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Romulo Santos of Somerville headed off to work Sept. 9 at a
Some might consider the 47-year-old Brazilian native's death a freak accident, but local advocates say that for many immigrant workers, the risk of injury is all too real.
Tufts University, Cambridge Health Alliance, and five Somerville community groups have come together to raise awareness of occupational health risks and to teach people their rights.
Statewide, immigrants are disproportionately more likely to be injured on the job, said Tufts professor David Gute. In 2005, immigrants made up 17 percent of the workforce and accounted for 28 percent of on-the-job deaths, said Gute, citing a study from the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Health and Safety, and the AFL-CIO. Gute is leading a survey with more than 300 responses so far, trying to piece out data for Somerville.
According to the city's website, nearly 30 percent of residents over the age of 18 were born in another country. Immigrants often work in the most dangerous jobs, said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, executive director of MassCOSH. "The more desperate you are to keep your job, the more vulnerable you are."
There are plenty of examples. In 2004, two Vietnamese floor finishers in Somerville were killed when varnish fumes ignited, sending a fireball down a stairwell. Smaller varnish fires are extremely common, Goldstein-Gelb said.
"You see a lot of Brazilians doing construction, roof [work], without protection," said Ismael Vasquez of the Community Action Agency of Somerville. He coordinates a teen group that helped write and administer the survey with Haitian peers.
Chronic exposure also causes problems, Alex Pirie, coordinator at the Immigrant Service Providers Group, said - "people who are on ladders all day long . . . inhaling scraped-off lead."
Despite these risks, advocates said, immigrant workers were underinformed and afraid to come forward when they do get injured. Gute cited language barriers and a reluctance since 9/11 to interact with public agencies.
Members of the Latino teen group saw this firsthand with their survey subjects.
"They don't know their rights," said Jessalyn Vasquez, 14, who said her mother once got a paper cut on her eye at Ames Envelope Co. in Somerville.
The students have made formal presentations to church groups and public health conferences. They also talk about what they've learned to family and friends.
The eye injury notwithstanding, Pirie and Ismael Vasquez pointed to Ames Envelope as an example of a company that does things right, taking appropriate safety precautions and keeping employees informed.
"One of the challenges we have is how to get the message across," said Joanne Sargent, an occupational health nurse who works with Ames.
Sargent said the company trains employees in ergonomics and other issues, and posts notices in English and Spanish. She walks around the factory floor weekly to correct safety lapses and bad habits. This year, eight of the location's 400 or so workers had OSHA-recordable injuries, she said.
As the OSHA investigation of Santos' electrocution continues, Somerville is mobilizing its resources. And the state Legislature recently advanced a bill to ban the varnishes responsible for the 2004 accident, Goldstein-Gelb said.
Coalition members hope free flu shots will attract people to their Oct. 24-25 Immigrant Community Health Fair at the Healey School, where they will do more surveys. They're also holding a "healthy worker" seminar at Cambridge Health Alliance in Assembly Square on Nov. 15.
And the teens keep talking, "to encourage people that no matter what, they have rights," Lainez said.
