Safe Work, Healthy Lives

According to a study completed by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of California at Los Angeles, an astounding 92% of Midwestern construction day laborers feel they regularly work in unsafe conditions.

(Click here to read On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States).

In 2005, the Latino Union served on the Governor’s Panel for Latino Workplace Injuries and Deaths to address the rising rate of Latino workplace deaths at a time when such phenomena is decreasing for all other ethnic groups.

In order to counteract this dynamic and prevent accidents and dangerous exposure amongst its members, the Latino Union has collaborated with workers, Chicago-area health clinics, universities, and other organizations to clearly identify the most common hazards of the construction day labor industry.  In collaboration with the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration (OSHA), Truman College, and the University of Illinois at Chicago the Latino Union has developed relevant and participatory trainings that combine construction skills, workplace safety, and English language lessons into on-going workshop series. As a result, Latino Union members receive training on prevention of falls, lead and asbestos exposure, lifting injuries, and other common workplace safety issues.  Select workers also receive OSHA-10 safety certification.