Most of construction fall fatalities in New York are foreign-born workers
The Center for Popular Democracy reports that:
Our review of 2003-2011 OSHA investigations of construction site accidents involving a fatal fall from an elevation revealed that Latinos and immigrants are disproportionately killed in fall accidents.
In 60% of the OSHA-investigated fall from an elevation fatalities in New York State, the worker was Latino and/or immigrant, disproportionately high for their participation in construction work.
In New York City, 74% of fatal falls were Latino and/or immigrant.
Narrowing further, 88% of fatal falls in Queens and 87% in Brooklyn involved Latinos and/or immigrants.
86% of Latino and/or immigrant fatalities from a fall from an elevation in New York were working for a non-union employer.
In 2011 focus groups, Latino construction workers reported fearing retaliation as a key deterrent to raising concerns about safety.
Its report, Fatal Inequality: Workplace Safety Eludes Construction Workers of Color, is available on its website.