The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lists four leading causes of death among workers: falls, electrocutions, being struck by an object and being caught in between two things. But the agency leaves out one startling fact: Latino workers are dying at a faster rate.
According to a joint American Society of Safety Engineers and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report, in 2014, 789 Latino workers in the U.S. were killed from work-related injuries, which is equivalent to an average of 15 deaths weekly or two deaths daily. In 2013, Latinos were the only ethnic group to experience an increase in workplace fatalities. In addition, Latino immigrant workers have a higher mortality rate (5.9 per 100,000 workers) than other workers (4 per 100,000 workers). (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the term "Latino" "refers to persons who identified themselves in the enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic or Latino. Persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race.")
This is a serious matter and every roofing contractor needs to consider the reasons Latino workers are dying more frequently than their non-Latino counterparts. Based on my experience, the four main reasons are:
Lack of communication
Roofing contractors conduct safety talks, which are of utmost importance, in English and Spanish, but meaning and intention can get lost in translation. In addition, many times the person doing the interpreting is not necessarily a skilled communicator nor perhaps fully respected by his or her co-workers. If your workforce is predominantly Spanish-speaking, safety talks should be conducted in Spanish by a skilled communicator.
Latinos are visual learners by nature, so showing and telling always is much better than telling alone. Too many safety talks sound like sermons rather than serving as life-saving demonstrations of how to do something for the good of one's family. Safety talks should show graphic, effective visuals and include role playing. You may even consider asking a Spanish-speaking emergency room physician to speak with your employees about the harm they could face if they don't take proper safety precautions.
To communicate safety to Latinos, you must be visual and tie the discussion to the well-being of one's family, not just an individual. Why the family? The Latino culture is high-context, which means greater value is placed on the group than on the individual. Self-identity is achieved through the group more than through individual achievement and accomplishment. And the group that matters the most to Latinos is family.
If you want to know whether your workers grasp the safety concepts, you must test them. Asking them to sign a sheet is not good enough. Give them a three- or four-question quiz in Spanish that asks about the material addressed. Also, consider a "What if?"-type quiz that gives them a scenario and requires them to think through the consequences. Of course, this is best practice with all your associates, not just Latinos.
Machismo
Machismo at its core is a front for insecurity, and in the roofing industry, specifically as it relates to safety, machismo is a killer. To be fair, the machismo theory is complex and not within the full scope of this article, but it is important to consider it as it applies to safety with Latinos.
Machismo is what makes men think they can jump across two beams like Superman. It makes men think they can stay safe on a slippery steep-slope roof like Spiderman. Many, if not most, men in a machista culture are out to prove just how much of a man they are. Would Superman or Spiderman wear fall protection? Of course not. That's for weak people.
But what is Mr. Machismo's kryptonite? It's staying safe for his family. You must envelop your safety programs, talks and processes around the understanding that if workers get hurt, their wives, mothers, fathers, children, etc., will suffer.
If you always tie your safety messages to the family, you'll blunt the full force of machismo.
Disregard for rules
The U.S. is a "rule of law" country. Rules matter. People who don't follow the rules get taken out of society. As a result, even though the U.S. has 5 percent of the world's population, it has 25 percent of the world's prison population.
Latin American societies are not primarily rules-based. There is a lot of personal freedom in most countries, and people are much less judgmental of other people's actions.
When you talk with most Latinos about OSHA, rules and regulations, they see the rules as a burden, not as something to protect them. They are not used to being expected to follow such detailed rules and regulations.
Of course, they are living in your world, and rules matter, so they have to be acclimated and acculturated to this new reality. I am not saying Latinos can't or shouldn't play by the rules. They should. However, a total rules-based approach to safety training and processes does not reach the Latino heart and is a cause of significant problems regarding safety in the industry.
Incongruence
There are two major points of incongruence I have noticed in the roofing industry regarding safety: paying by the square and having workers supervised by undeveloped leaders.
On one hand, contractors say: "Safety is our No. 1 priority." On the other hand, they say: "I'm going to give you a bonus based on how fast you get the job done."
Any logical, objective bystander can see the incongruence here. Speed kills. Personally, I believe the roofing industry should abolish pay structures that incentivize getting things done quickly. People under pressure don't typically make the best decisions regarding safety.
Let's be honest. If you really want to keep people safe and want safety to be your first priority, you can't reward speed. If anything, reward employees based on productivity, quality and adherence to safety and other company standards.
Regarding the second problem: An undeveloped leader is more concerned about his or her well-being than the well-being of those under his or her care.
As a business owner, you have a moral obligation to make sure your workforce is led by mature leaders. If you have Latinos leading your workforce who have never received professional leadership development training, you need to take this step. In my company's research with the Latino workforce and with Latino foremen in the roofing industry, my company clearly sees undeveloped leaders as a real deterrent to safety.
Undeveloped leaders don't consistently report safety accidents. In an industry report my company prepared for The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress in 2015, 46 percent of Latino supervisors said they did not report safety accidents unless the injured person had to go to the hospital.
This is a deep flaw on the part of these leaders and is a clear indicator they have not been properly developed as leaders by their organizations. Of the group of leaders studied, only 5 percent said they had received formal leadership training. And 80 percent of them said they have never attended a roofing industry event or association meeting.
The roofing industry has some serious work to do regarding the development of Latino leaders. It is incongruent to preach safety when you have not invested in the proper development of the people who are leading your workers daily.
Keep them safe
The Roman statesman Cicero said: "The safety of the people shall be the highest law." I sincerely hope, for the sake of Latino workers, the roofing industry takes Cicero's advice to heart.
Ricardo González is founder and CEO of Bilingual America, Atlanta.
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