OSHA's efforts with Hispanic workers paying off, says Henshaw
In response to an Associated Press report last month which found that the death toll for Mexican-born workers has grown to the point that one dies in the United States every day on average, OSHA chief John Henshaw wrote in a letter to editors that while Mexican-born worker death rates "are still too high," his agency is making progress through outreach efforts, according to the AP. Henshaw cited increased inspections in occupations that employ many Hispanics, such as construction and landscaping, partnerships with local groups and a Spanish-language Web site.
"A departmental Hispanic Workers Task Force was created to coordinate this effort, and it is working," Henshaw wrote, citing in particular a one-year decline from 422 Mexican-born worker deaths in 2001 to 387 in 2002.