Mapping Safety and Health Conditions in Low-Wage Work: Conversations with Workers in Central New York

Background and Objectives

Work is an important contributor to health disparities because low-wage workers are frequently at risk of injury and illness from poorly controlled workplace hazards. Low-wage work occupies a growing proportion of the workforce in Central New York. The regional occupational health clinical center initiated a long-term project to address the occupational health needs of these high risk workers. Previously, the project surveyed 275 low-wage workers. In this presentation we report on the second phase of the project: Workers engaged in longer and more detailed conversations about the conditions of their low-wage work in order to amplify and deepen our understanding of the survey findings.

 Methods

Low-wage workers (n=146) were identified through a variety of unions and community-based organizations. Focus groups (17) were conducted in workplaces and at sites in the community.

 Results

Low-wage workers frequently reported a clustering of physical and psycho-social factors that demonstrate the deleterious health impacts of low-wage work.  They regularly work under vague work arrangements in jobs with clear health and safety violations. Workers reported being marginalized through persistent unsafe conditions, wage theft, unfair work re-assignment, unethical approaches to termination, and flagrant disrespect.  Details were shared regarding the how the work’s precarity led to immediate  struggles against  homelessness and “deep poverty.”

 Conclusions

In the Syracuse metropolitan area, there is a relatively large low-wage workforce.  Addressing the poor working conditions, including safety and health hazards will require sustained collaboration between the occupational health clinical center, workers, other community organizations, and unions.