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The statistics are staggering. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 11,303 Hispanic workers died as a result of work-related injuries from 1992 through 2006. These deaths accounted for approximately 13 percent of all work-related injury deaths during that period.
Within our industry, BLS reported that 789 landscape services workers and their first-line supervisors died as a result of traumatic injuries between 2003 and 2006. Twenty-nine percent of the workers who died were Hispanic. Preliminary BLS data for 2007 shows that 184 landscape workers, tree trimmers and their supervisors (both Hispanic and non-Hispanic) died from work-related injuries that year. ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Miguel Castro, human resources manager at the Acres Group in Roselle, Illinois, is a member of the stakeholder group providing input to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-144/pdfs/2008-144.pdf.)
Regarding Hispanic workers, Castro says he believes they are ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Communication is Key In-depth investigations of approximately 200 deaths of Hispanic workers by NIOSH and state public health and labor agencies from 1992 through 2006 suggested that certain characteristics contributed to these deaths. Among those characteristics were inadequate knowledge and control of recognized safety hazards and inadequate training and supervision of workers, often exacerbated by different languages and literacy levels. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Castro believes that the biggest problem in inadequately training Hispanic or other non-English speaking workers is at the supervisory level. The owners of the company, he says, often support safety, yet supervisors ?EUR??,,????'?????< A worker who is not native to the United States may not have as high a literacy level as a worker who grew up in the U.S. because schooling opportunities may have been limited in that person?EUR??,,????'?????< Participating in short, oral tailgate training sessions at the start of the workday is a good way to reinforce safety among all of your workers, including your Spanish-speaking crew members. From left are Kujawa Enterprises, Inc. employees Jose Mendiola, Honorio De La Cruz, Fidel Castillo-Lopez and Gabriel Ojeda. Kujawa Enterprises, Inc., a full-service landscape company in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, has a field staff that is approximately 65 percent to 70 percent Hispanic at peak. The company has taken a number of steps to effectively carry safety messages to its non-English speaking workers. One of the biggest steps was to hire Maria Anaya, a Hispanic woman who is bilingual, as its front desk receptionist. Anaya, the first person customers see when walking in the door, has become the company?EUR??,,????'?????< Anaya?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Caucasian managers at Kujawa have also taken a number of steps to improve their communication with Spanish-speaking employees. For example, Tom Jurasinski, director of exterior operations, along with several other managers, took an eight-night course at a local technical college to learn certain work phrases in Spanish and learn more about Hispanic cultures.
?EUR??,,????'?????<
In-depth investigations of approximately 200 deaths of Hispanic workers by NIOSH and state public health and labor agencies from 1992 through 2006 suggested that certain characteristics contributed to these deaths. Among those characteristics were inadequate knowledge and control of recognized safety hazards and inadequate training and supervision of workers, often exacerbated by different languages and literacy levels.
Castro believes that the biggest problem in inadequately training Hispanic or other non-English speaking workers is at the supervisory level. The owners of the company, he says, often support safety, yet supervisors ?EUR??,,????'?????<
A worker who is not native to the United States may not have as high a literacy level as a worker who grew up in the U.S. because schooling opportunities may have been limited in that person?EUR??,,????'?????<
Kujawa Enterprises, Inc., a full-service landscape company in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, has a field staff that is approximately 65 percent to 70 percent Hispanic at peak. The company has taken a number of steps to effectively carry safety messages to its non-English speaking workers.
One of the biggest steps was to hire Maria Anaya, a Hispanic woman who is bilingual, as its front desk receptionist. Anaya, the first person customers see when walking in the door, has become the company?EUR??,,????'?????<
Anaya?EUR??,,????'?????<
Caucasian managers at Kujawa have also taken a number of steps to improve their communication with Spanish-speaking employees. For example, Tom Jurasinski, director of exterior operations, along with several other managers, took an eight-night course at a local technical college to learn certain work phrases in Spanish and learn more about Hispanic cultures.
Now, when Jurasinski walks by a group of Hispanic crew members at the start of the day, he shakes their hands, greets them by name and talks with them a few minutes ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Another supervisor, Anaya says, knows very little Spanish but will at least try to speak some Spanish with the company?EUR??,,????'?????<
Gain an understanding of your workers?EUR??,,????'?????< This is critical in order to effectively get your safety messages across. For example, ?EUR??,,????'?????< Don?EUR??,,????'?????< Kujawa, for example, began incorporating Mexican food into its company picnics to show its native Mexican employees that the company cares about them. Showing your workers that you care about them and their families will help generate loyalty ?EUR??,,????'?????< Kujawa Enterprises, Inc. employee Abel Chairez was trained in safe tractor operations before being allowed to operate a tractor. It's critical that you ensure your native Spanish-speaking workers truly understand what they were taught before allowing them to operate potentially hazardous machinery and equipment. Understand the potential literacy and cultural barriers that may inhibit effective safety communication. Know that it?EUR??,,????'?????< Don?EUR??,,????'?????< Particularly if they are from another country, they may not have had any safety training in the past and may not be familiar with such equipment as zero-turn mowers, skid-steer loaders or forklifts. So again, it?EUR??,,????'?????< Work toward gaining participation in your safety training. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Make use of the many excellent free resources available to assist you. Among these are: NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/niosh for more information . also, a second bilingual fact sheet entitled Non-fatal Traumatic Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers is under development); NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration?EUR??,,????'?????<www.osha.gov and www.LandcareNetwork.org ?EUR??,,????'?????< www.osha.gov/SLTC/landscaping/index.html). About the author: Barbara Mulhern is a Belleville, Wisconsin-based freelance writer who specializes in safety and health issues for green industry employers.
Don?EUR??,,????'?????< Kujawa, for example, began incorporating Mexican food into its company picnics to show its native Mexican employees that the company cares about them. Showing your workers that you care about them and their families will help generate loyalty ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Understand the potential literacy and cultural barriers that may inhibit effective safety communication. Know that it?EUR??,,????'?????<
Don?EUR??,,????'?????< Particularly if they are from another country, they may not have had any safety training in the past and may not be familiar with such equipment as zero-turn mowers, skid-steer loaders or forklifts. So again, it?EUR??,,????'?????< Work toward gaining participation in your safety training. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Make use of the many excellent free resources available to assist you. Among these are: NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/niosh for more information . also, a second bilingual fact sheet entitled Non-fatal Traumatic Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers is under development); NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration?EUR??,,????'?????<www.osha.gov and www.LandcareNetwork.org ?EUR??,,????'?????< www.osha.gov/SLTC/landscaping/index.html). About the author: Barbara Mulhern is a Belleville, Wisconsin-based freelance writer who specializes in safety and health issues for green industry employers.
Work toward gaining participation in your safety training. ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Make use of the many excellent free resources available to assist you. Among these are: NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/niosh for more information . also, a second bilingual fact sheet entitled Non-fatal Traumatic Injuries Among Landscape Services Workers is under development); NIOSH?EUR??,,????'?????<www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration?EUR??,,????'?????<www.osha.gov and www.LandcareNetwork.org ?EUR??,,????'?????< www.osha.gov/SLTC/landscaping/index.html).
About the author: Barbara Mulhern is a Belleville, Wisconsin-based freelance writer who specializes in safety and health issues for green industry employers.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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