By Unidos In Power
Mar 29, 2024
Unidos Familia,
This country is not sustainable without us!
The United States continues to face significant challenges regarding immigration from Mexico, Central America, and South America, often neglecting the disproportionate risks faced by Latino immigrants. Tragically, many lose their lives in the pursuit of contributing to this nation’s growth and development.
The recent collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge claimed the lives of six construction workers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Delving deeper into the issue, statistics reveal that 47.5% of foreign-born workers in the U.S. are Latinos, comprising approximately 12.5 million individuals as of 2021. This constitutes 7.9% of the total U.S. workforce. Shockingly, Latinos as a group disproportionately accounted for 26.3 percent of fatalities resulting from falls, slips, and trips, and 18.4 percent of fatalities from contact with objects and equipment.
Lead researcher Morgan Richey, in a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, aptly noted, “Those often called upon to undertake precarious tasks are individuals who feel they cannot refuse.”
Our people migrate here, leaving behind their families, friends, and communities, driven by a profound commitment to secure a better life through hard work. They take on strenuous, perilous jobs to provide for their loved ones and pursue the American Dream, only to find themselves disproportionately vulnerable to workplace hazards.
Unidos in Power seeks to address those who overlook the invaluable contributions of our community to this nation. We undertake the arduous, risky tasks that sustain this country’s infrastructure, yet tragically, we suffer a disproportionate number of fatalities in the process, leaving behind shattered dreams and bereaved families.
In solidarity, Unidos in Power extends our heartfelt condolences to the families of our Latin American brothers who lost their lives on the Baltimore bridge. We stand united in your grief and strength. And to those in power, we send the message that our people are uniting, these statistics need to change, and our people need to be acknowledged and appreciated for what we bring. This country is not sustainable without us.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the families affected by the tragedy of the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge: https://gofund.me/212e262d.
Image credit: Reuters.
