coronavirus

Latino Workers Are at Increased Risk of Dying on the Job, New Report Says

The rise in fatalities is especially seen among immigrant workers in three states — the same states that are also seeing a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases and deaths among Latinos

In this April 12, 2017, file photo, employees butcher pork at a Smithfield Foods Inc. pork processing facility in Milan, Missouri.
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Latino workers, especially those who are immigrants, continue to be at increased risk of dying on the job, according to a report published Tuesday by the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest federation of unions.

Based on 2018 numbers, the most recent available data, "our report did show that the job fatality rate for Latino workers continues to be higher than the national rate. It's at 3.7 per 100,000 workers, compared to 3.5 for all workers," Rebecca Reindel, director of occupational safety and health at AFL-CIO, said during a virtual press conference Tuesday.

About 76 percent of all Latino worker deaths in Florida were of immigrant workers, NBC News reports. In California and Texas, it was 61 and 63 percent respectively. And Latinos in these three states — many of them essential workers — are being disproportionately infected and killed by the coronavirus.

"Workers who were already at greater risk of workplace injuries, deaths and disease have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, such as Black and Latino workers in meatpacking plants, agriculture and other industries," Reindel said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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