| The object of this dissertation was to conduct a geographical immigrant labor population analysis of the work spaces where Latin American immigrant worker fatal accidents occurred and were investigated by OSHA in NYC's Brooklyn and Manhattan from 1995-2004. The purpose of this analysis was to identify spatial trends and to develop a spatial profile or spatial model of these fatal accident sites. With the identification of spatial factors that are related to Latin American worker fatal accidents, OSHA could implement an improved spatial strategy for identifying hazards, issuing violations, and thus preventing these fatalities before they occur.;The US Dept. of Labor/Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that the total amount of occupational fatal accidents went up from 1,729 to 1,966 in the years 1997 to 2005. In addition, in the U.S., the Hispanic worker fatality rate has increased sharply from 4.50 per 100,000 in 2003 to 4.90 in 2004. This is an 11% increase (Smith, S., et al, 2006). The New York State (NYS) Trial Lawyers Association of OSHA reported that from 1994-2004 in NYS, most of the occupational fatal accidents occurred in New York City (NYC), and in NYC most occupational fatal accidents occurred on construction sites. Sixty seven percent occurred with workers who spoke a foreign language on the job, usually Spanish. Brooklyn was reported as the county that had the most accidents in the state (NYS Trial Lawyers Assoc. of OSHA, 2005). These statistics clearly identify a need to reduce the occupational fatal accident rate, especially for Latin American immigrants in NYC.;The research concludes that Latin American occupational fatal accidents do have a unique, and a statistically significant relationship with the following independent variables: union status; job size; median residential household income; and residential population density. |
