MontCo Hearing: Immigrant Workers Need Safer Jobs

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)While Montgomery County continues to be one of the wealthiest communities in the nation, “for immigrants, too often it’s an endless succession of dangerous jobs at poverty wages,” said Montgomery County Worker Safety and Health Commission chair Jim Grossfeld – who’s also a CWA member -- at a hearing last Friday on the workplace crisis facing the county’s growing immigrant workforce. The hearing’s most riveting moment came as Juana Maria Molina, joined by her children and grandchildren, tearfully recalled the death of her husband, who was electrocuted while working for a landscaper in Takoma Park. Providing immigrant workers with the tools to fight for safer jobs was the theme of Friday’s nearly 4-hour hearing where commission members, together with County Executive Leggett and Council members Valerie Ervin, George Leventhal, and Nancy Navarro, listened as workplace safety advocates graphically described the hazards faced by immigrant workers. The Commission was created by County Executive Ike Leggett in 2009 after a campaign by a labor-community coalition for the Montgomery County Worker Safety and Health Initiative, a series of proposals to make the county the first local government in the U.S. to crack down on private sector job dangers. This summer the commission scored a major win with a new regulation requiring the review of the safety records and oversight of the safety programs of subcontractors working on county projects. “Safety doesn’t just happen,” noted Vance Ayres, Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Washington Building and Construction Trades Council and a Commission member. “You have to embed safety in the planning process from the start and make sure workers have the tools they need when they need them.” Added commission member Tona Cravioto of CASA de Maryland, "Immigrant workers are absolutely convinced that if they speak out against dangerous conditions they are going to be fired and, unless they stand together, they're usually right." CASA provides safety training for immigrant workers and routinely files complaints with MOSH to challenge safety hazards. Other speakers at the hearing included Acting Maryland DLLR Secretary Scott Jensen, OSHA Regional  administrator Maryann Garrahan, and Dr. Andrea Kidd, representing the Maryland Public Health Association. If addition, the hearing also took testimony from commission member and SEIU Maryland/D.C. State Council Executive Director Terry Cavanagh who reminded those attending the hearing that “One of the best guarantees of safety on the job is the strong voice that only comes with a union contract." Underscoring the depth of labor’s commitment to local action on immigrant worker health and safety, members of MCGEO/UFCW Local 1994 turned out in force for the hearing. "County employees believe in safe jobs for every worker. When our members see any worker's health and safety at risk they want the tools to respond," said MCGEO's Amy Millar. The county workers union was one of the first and most consistent supporters of the worker safety initiative. Members of the commission will now review the testimony and prepare its recommendations for county action. - photos: (above right) Juana Maria Molina, widowed wife of electrocuted landscaping worker; (below left) Commissioners Chris Trahan (Center for Construction Research and Training), Scott Schneider (LIUNA), Tona Cravioto (CASA de Maryland), Chair, Jim Grossfeld. Commissioners not pictured: Amy Millar (MCGEO / UFCW Local 1994), Vance Ayres (DC Building and Construction Trades Council), Terry Cavanagh (SEIU Maryland/DC State Council). Photos courtesy of Montgomery County.