To Peter:

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.

David

David 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: Peter Rousmaniere [mailto:pfr@...]
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 7:16 PM
To: Migrant Health Research
Subject: [migrant_health_research] 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.


Peter Rousmaniere
508 Woodstock Rd. Suite 4
Woodstock VT 05091
617-308-2961
pfr@...







To Post a message, send it to: migrant_health_research@yahooGroups.com

To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:
migrant_health_research-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Yahoo! Groups Links