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Immigrant Construction Workers and Health and Safety

The South Florida Experience

Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, nissenb{at}fiu.edu

Alejandro Angee

Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, aangee{at}hotmail.com

Marc Weinstein

Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, weinstei{at}fiu.edu

Immigrants are a growing percentage of the U.S. construction labor force, so the safety of their working conditions deserves study. This article reports on research surveying 283 immigrant construction workers in south Florida about their safety training, use of personal protective equipment, and employer safety practices. Potential impacts of unionized status and documented legal status are tested through regression analysis. Results show only a minor positive relationship of unionization with more training and safer conditions and essentially no relationship between documented legal status and training or safe conditions. Reasons for the weak results are discussed, and further research questions are posed.

Key Words: safety and health • immigrant workers • construction workers • unions • legal documentation

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Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1, 48-62 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0160449X07312075


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Nissen, B. Articles by Weinstein, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?