1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,279 Speaker 1: Futuro investigates Investida. 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 2: This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 2: Kurturre Latino US Latin Latino USA. 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: I'm Maria Inojosa. 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: We bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 2: to you, overlooked by the rest of the media, and 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 2: while the country is struggling to deal with these, we 8 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 2: listen to the stories of Black and Latino. 9 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: Studios United Latino Front. 10 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 2: A cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 11 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: I'm Maria ino Jossa Noaan. 12 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 2: When powerful hurricanes, wildfires, or floods destroyed communities across the 13 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 2: United States, scores of workers emerge from around the country 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 2: ready to clear and rebuild. And dear listener, you might 15 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 2: not know this, but it is in fact Latino immigrants 16 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: who are the ones more than likely to perform the 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 2: hardest cleaning tasks after natural disasters. In the process, though, 18 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 2: they're also unknowingly exposed to harmful toxins, toxins that can 19 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 2: make them sick years after finishing the job. La camo, 20 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 2: that's Mariano, an undocumented immigrant from Ponduras. He said his 21 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 2: dry throat hurts and he's always coughing sometimes to the 22 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 2: point of triggering an asthma attack. Mariano is fifty years old. 23 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 2: We're not going to reveal his last name in order 24 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 2: to protect his identity. He was repeatedly exposed to mold 25 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 2: when he cleared debris from nine her Kanes in Louisiana 26 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 2: and Florida, and dear listener, mold can contribute to pulmonary 27 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 2: disease and also to asthma. Still, Mariano says the labor 28 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 2: contractors hiring him over the years did not provide something 29 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 2: as basic as a proper mask or any other kind 30 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: of protection or training that could have minimized exposure. Mariano 31 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 2: was exposed to three of the most common toxins in 32 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 2: post disaster work sites, asbestos, lead, and mold. While lead 33 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: and asbestos are regulated by the federal government, those standards 34 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: are generally not enforced in the wake of a disaster, 35 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 2: and mold, which is ubiquitous after hurricanes, is not regulated 36 00:02:52,880 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 2: at all. Mariano said his only resource was to put 37 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 2: himself in God's hands, and while the industry Mariano joined 38 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 2: almost twenty years ago keeps expanding, no one is tracking 39 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 2: how exposure from disaster to disaster impacts workers' health, at 40 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 2: least not until now. From Futuro Media and PRX It's 41 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 2: Latino USA. I'm Maria no Josa Today Toxic Labor, a 42 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 2: first of its kind investigation into how prolonged exposure to 43 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: toxins affects the health of workers who rebuild American cities 44 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: after natural disasters. This is a special episode by our 45 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 2: own Futuro Investigates, in collaboration with the Center for Public 46 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 2: Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. We'll tell you why immigrant 47 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 2: workers man reconstruction sites are left to fend for themselves 48 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 2: while their labor fuels a booming and loosely regulated industry 49 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 2: that neglects them. We're going to start today in New Orleans, 50 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 2: home base to many restoration workers since Hurricane Katrina ravaged 51 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 2: the city in two thousand and five. Our investigation was 52 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: kicked off over a year ago by a team of 53 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 2: fellows from Columbia Journalism Investigations. They were focusing on climate change. 54 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 2: Then investigative reporter marines A. Mulio with the Center for 55 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 2: Public Integrity joined the effort, and the entire team traveled 56 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 2: to Fort Myers, Florida and New Orleans last year. Now, 57 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,239 Speaker 2: Marinez is with me in the studio to talk about 58 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 2: this reporting. Ola Marinez, Hi, Maria. So your team traveled 59 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 2: to these places that have been pretty much devastated by hurricanes, 60 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 2: and what you find is, in many ways, Frank, what 61 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 2: I saw myself almost twenty years ago when I went 62 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 2: to New Orleans as a television correspondent for PBS after 63 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 2: Hurricane Katrina. 64 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: My house is underwater. 65 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 3: I have me and my husband, a three year old 66 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 3: and a newborn. 67 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: So we're done week. 68 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 3: I know where to go nowhere. 69 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: I go up homelows. 70 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 3: That's all I had. 71 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: That's all I had. 72 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 3: So we wanted to see if and how workers doing 73 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 3: the hardest job cleaning up after major destruction have access 74 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 3: to training and protective equipment that could limit their exposure 75 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 3: to toxins that can make them sick. Maria, these workers 76 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 3: are still neglected. We learned that when we went to 77 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 3: New Orleans. 78 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: Hey day, we're not. 79 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 3: It's a sunny spring day in March, and a few 80 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 3: men are playing dice in the parking lot of a 81 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 3: home improvement store. It's only eleven am, but the men 82 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 3: still here. They would likely not find work today. That's 83 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 3: because employers usually pick up laborers by sunrise for a 84 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 3: full day's work. I'm here with a colleague to interview 85 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 3: workers and document talks and exposure over time. We want 86 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 3: to ask them about their access to training and protective equipment, 87 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 3: because those safety measures can lessen their risk. Already, not 88 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 3: far from the men playing dice, I meet Roberto, a 89 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 3: forty seven year old immigrant from Honduras. He is piercing 90 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 3: black eyes hidden behind a baseball cap. His muscles are 91 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 3: outlined in the long sleeved shirt he's wearing on this 92 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 3: hot day to protect himself from the sun. Unlike other 93 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 3: workers around him, hesitant to talk with me, Roberto proudly 94 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 3: tells me how he helped rebuild New Orleans after Katrina 95 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 3: in two thousand and five. He was exposed to asbestos 96 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 3: multiple times while demolishing structures. 97 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 4: Meet personas Blancas, La Guia Americana, Guillavess, B Cortino, and 98 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 4: Slippery and Amantras. 99 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 3: While cleaning up after Katrina, Roberto says his boss ordered 100 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 3: him to bag debris filled with asbestos without protection. He 101 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 3: told me he suspected it was dangerous when he saw 102 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 3: American workers and Katrina volunteers wearing white hazmat suits and 103 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 3: masks to do the same job as an undocumented immigrant. 104 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 3: He said he felt he couldn't demand protective equipment to 105 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 3: limit talks and exposure. Dozens of workers told me the same. 106 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 2: After major disasters. Newly arrived immigrants like Roberto are lured 107 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 2: by the promise of a job that pays over a 108 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 2: minimum wage and also offers perks like overtime pay and transportation. 109 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 2: And because of climate change, this industry is actually booming. 110 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 2: It moves one hundred and fifty billion dollars every single year. 111 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: Just in the last four years, there have been at. 112 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 2: Least eighty one major storms, floods, and wildfires across the US. 113 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 2: These have cost nearly one thousand deaths and left at 114 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 2: least five hundred billion dollars in damages. 115 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 5: While the forecasters say that Hurricane Laura, which has made 116 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 5: land in Texas and Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico, 117 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 5: could cause a storm. 118 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 6: Search Hurricane Ida making landfall in south east Louisiana as 119 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,719 Speaker 6: a powerful Category four st war treacherous night ahead for 120 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 6: Florida as darkness begins to fall and Hurricane Ian continues 121 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 6: its catastrophic rampage. 122 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 2: While restoration efforts from these disasters employ more and more 123 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 2: Latino immigrants to clean and rebuild. There is no federal 124 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 2: or state data available that tracks how many of these 125 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 2: workers get sick, and there's no government aid agency or 126 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 2: advocacy organization that has studied how prolonged exposure to toxins 127 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: from cleaning disaster after disaster could impact a worker's health. 128 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 3: So the team from Columbia Journalism Investigations and I spent 129 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 3: months reporting on this unprotected workforce, interviewing dozens of workers 130 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 3: and digging through hundreds of pages of documents. Since there 131 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 3: was no data, we had to build our own to 132 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 3: understand the scope of the problem. We methodically documented workers' 133 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 3: experiences mariat. Their stories were difficult to hear. 134 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 2: And you know, Tokayah, I know exactly what you mean, 135 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 2: because back in two thousand and five, when Katrina happened, 136 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 2: I reported on the huge immigrant labor force that was 137 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 2: suddenly brought into New Orleans, and it was a similar 138 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 2: story of these workers not being protected. I mean, I 139 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 2: remember vividly seeing scores of Latino men cleaning up the debris, 140 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 2: and not once in all of the time that I 141 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 2: was reporting in New Orleans. Did I see any of 142 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 2: them wearing any kind of protective gear? And I specifically 143 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 2: remember talking to one worker from Nicaragua. He took me 144 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 2: to where he was staying at the end of a 145 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 2: very long work day, and he showed me this really 146 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 2: beat up bible where he kept his most prized possession, 147 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 2: which were the photos of his kids. And I remember 148 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 2: him looking at this and crying and describing how looking 149 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 2: at these pictures allowed him to get through what he 150 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 2: described as hell on earth. 151 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: Hm. 152 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 3: He sounds like Marino, the worker we heard at the 153 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 3: top of the show. When I asked him if he 154 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 3: received training or had access to protective equipment that could 155 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 3: have helped minimize exposure to dangerous toxins, he said a 156 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 3: prayer was his only protection. The reality, Maria, is that 157 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 3: these workers are just as vulnerable now as they were 158 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 3: almost twenty years ago when you first reported on the issue. 159 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: Which is not the way it's supposed to go. 160 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 2: When journalists, investigative journalists uncover a problem, a labor abuse, 161 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 2: it's supposed to get better. So the fact that after 162 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:27,199 Speaker 2: twenty years we're basically telling the same story is incredibly problematic. 163 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 2: And when we come back we're going to hear from 164 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 2: Mariano again. He's going to tell us how cleaning hurricane 165 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 2: after hurricane has taken a toll. 166 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: On his body. 167 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 2: Stay with us, Yes, Hey, we're back, dear listener, and 168 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 2: we're taking a closer look at how workers' health is 169 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 2: impacted from tocsin exposure during natural disaster cleanup. 170 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:11,439 Speaker 1: In the comfort of his home. 171 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 2: Now, Mariano, the immigrant that we heard from earlier, shared 172 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 2: in detail his experiences working in this cleanup industry for 173 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 2: almost twenty years. And you were there with him, Marinez. 174 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 3: Yes, Maria. We arrived at Mariano's home on a Thursday 175 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,080 Speaker 3: evening in March of twenty twenty three. It's a single 176 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,959 Speaker 3: story house about five miles from downtown New Orleans. Similar 177 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 3: structures are squeezed in together, lined along the block, with 178 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 3: a small patch of grass by the front door. We 179 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 3: walk in through the small living room with a black couch, 180 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 3: yellow pillows, and a multicolored lamp. The word home is 181 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 3: spelled on the wall. The O is replaced with a 182 00:12:54,760 --> 00:13:02,079 Speaker 3: green wreath. Offers us something to drink as we sit 183 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 3: around the small kitchen table next to the refrigerator. At 184 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 3: just five feet he stands strong. He moves his large 185 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 3: hands when he speaks to emphasize something important. He wears 186 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 3: his black hair and a tapered bus cut, revealing his 187 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 3: car in the back of his head. It's an unwanted 188 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 3: souvenir from a fall off a roof while he was 189 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 3: working after Hurricane Michael in twenty eighteen. The contractor that 190 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 3: hired him didn't give him a safety harness. When I 191 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 3: ask Mariano how many hurricanes his helped clean, he gives 192 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 3: me a long list. 193 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 7: Okay in the Matthew in the Harvey, Harvey I I 194 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 7: in Florence, Flora. 195 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 3: Mariano invites his older brother Santos to join our conversation Wela. 196 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 3: The brothers work together for most of the time. Those 197 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 3: checks the long list too. Thendala yea, He's cleared debris 198 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 3: from ten hurricanes. Santos is a sixty year old father 199 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 3: of six. He's a few inches taller than his brother. Today, 200 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 3: he wears a baseball cap that covers his gray hair. 201 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 3: He's an avid soccer player with a round belly. The 202 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 3: brothers had been living in Dallas when they decided to 203 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 3: seek work after Katrina. They arrived in New Orleans in 204 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 3: a greyhound bus with just a backpack and a sleeping 205 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 3: bag they used to keep warm while sleeping in a 206 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 3: city park. A week after arriving, they were hired and 207 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 3: housed at a downtown hotel. There was plenty of work. 208 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 3: Hurricane Katrina damaged and estimated one hundred and thirty four 209 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 3: thousand and homes in New Orleans alone. Santo still remembers 210 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 3: the stench, a rancid mixture of mold and dead bodies. 211 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 3: He even made up his own ward in Spanish to describe. 212 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 7: It maloloro apistosidad stinkiness. 213 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 3: The stench forced them to throw away his donated clothes 214 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 3: every day. He remembers the unsettling destruction and long hours 215 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 3: of grueling work and limited access to food. He said 216 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 3: that labor contractors that hired him and his brother did 217 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 3: not teach them how to properly protect themselves from repeatedly 218 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 3: being exposed to asbestos, lead, and mold again among the 219 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 3: most common kinds of toxins found in post disaster sites. 220 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 3: Government research shows that exposure to even small doses of 221 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 3: asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer, and 222 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 3: chronic exposure to lead can cause reproductive issues, kidney problems 223 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 3: and seizures, while mold can contribute to pulmonary disease and asthma, 224 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 3: and so we needed to verify the exposure. We asked 225 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 3: Santos and Mariano to share information regarding places they've worked 226 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 3: and medical records. 227 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, Yon. 228 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: Plancha. It took me. 229 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 3: Months of calls and voice messages before I could truly 230 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 3: understand the dire conditions the brothers faced. One day, Santo 231 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 3: sent me a video of an abandoned house in New 232 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 3: Orleans he was about to demolish to show me the 233 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 3: growing mold. 234 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 2: You don't know. 235 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 3: The video was just under two minutes. I repeatedly paused 236 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 3: to process what I was watching. I could see the 237 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 3: growing mold all over the walls. It made me concern 238 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 3: for the brothers. I remember meeting Santos in person and 239 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 3: immediately noticing his breathing problems. He has constant asthma attacks, 240 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 3: and he has adopted a nightly ritual of deavin vapor 241 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 3: ub under his nose to help suothe the cough. Twenty 242 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 3: minutes into our conversation, when we were talking about access 243 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 3: to healthcare, he told me he only has access to 244 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 3: a community clinic, staph by volunteers. We were forced to 245 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 3: take a break after he started coughing. 246 00:17:58,840 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: Again. 247 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 2: Dear listener, there is no federal or state data to 248 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 2: show how many disaster restoration workers get sick every year, 249 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,159 Speaker 2: but Marinez and her team were able to document for 250 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 2: the first time that the brothers symptoms after a prolonged 251 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 2: exposure to toxins were not unique, right, Marines. 252 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 3: Yes, and we did that with the help of a 253 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 3: unique questionnaire our team created. It was with the guidance 254 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 3: from occupational health and safety specialists, environmental researchers, and other 255 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:36,679 Speaker 3: academic experts. We wanted to quantify exposure over time and 256 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 3: symptoms associated with asbestos, lead. 257 00:18:39,880 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 7: And moldsinas angos, amiato, estos, ot to. 258 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 4: Mo and peace more fabartament generally. 259 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:06,640 Speaker 1: The more. 260 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 2: That was mariaes in the middle of an interview with workers, 261 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 2: asking them whether they've been exposed to toxins, and each 262 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 2: of them answering yes and yes. You also heard a 263 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,400 Speaker 2: female voice there, because there are women who are doing 264 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 2: this hard work too. They are not as many as men, 265 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 2: but they are definitely part of this growing labor force. 266 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 2: So this is the first time that workers prolonged toxin 267 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 2: exposure and associated health symptoms are being documented in this way, Marianez, 268 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 2: Let's share with our listeners the findings that you came 269 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 2: up with, Maria. 270 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 3: We interviewed one hundred Latino disaster restoration workers in Florida, Louisiana, 271 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 3: and Texas. We asked them about toxin exposure, access to 272 00:19:55,359 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 3: personal protective equipment, and training, and a let me give 273 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,120 Speaker 3: you a detailed breakdown, Maria. Seventy two workers reported being 274 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 3: exposed to mold, fifty two said they were exposed to asbestos, 275 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 3: and forty eight told us they were exposed to lead. 276 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 3: Most workers experience health symptoms toxicologists say can be linked 277 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 3: to those toxins, including skin and eye irritations, respiratory problems, headaches, 278 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 3: and others developed chronic illnesses like asthma and vision. 279 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:40,880 Speaker 7: Loss Alsium capa identifica toxinus. 280 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 2: So with these numbers, you actually now have some hard 281 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:51,480 Speaker 2: data that's documenting this reality that we've been reporting on 282 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 2: for decades. 283 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 3: Now, that's right, Maria. In the case of Santos and Mariano, 284 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:00,560 Speaker 3: nearly twenty years of chasing work after hurricanes, it's taking 285 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 3: a toll on their bodies. The brothers not only have 286 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:08,679 Speaker 3: ongoing breathing problems. They also have been hospitalized following work accidents. 287 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 3: One such accident left Santos temporarily blind, while another left 288 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 3: Mariano in a coma for multiple days after he fell 289 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 3: off a roof in Panama City, Florida. But still it's 290 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 3: probably their respiratory issues that indicate the most enduring health effects. 291 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 3: When working after Katrina, Santos lived with hundreds of workers 292 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 3: housed in rows of triple bunk beds in close proximity. 293 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 3: He noticed a striking cough trend. Yeah. Santos recalls workers 294 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 3: lining up to shower as early as two am and 295 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:52,360 Speaker 3: hearing coffin and unison. He described it as quote an 296 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,680 Speaker 3: orchestra of roosters and chickens. 297 00:21:55,200 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 4: No, no, hi, HESSI. 298 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: You know Marinez. 299 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 2: Years later, researchers did come up with a different name 300 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 2: for it. In fact, they called it katrinakof, referring to 301 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 2: bouts of sinociitis and inflamed lungs. And it's all documented 302 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 2: in a study of almost eight hundred New Orleans area 303 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 2: workers surveyed between two thousand and seven and twenty ten, 304 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 2: This by researchers from two lane schools of medicine and 305 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 2: public health and tropical medicine. 306 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: So, dear listener, you might. 307 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 2: Be saying, isn't there a federal agency responsible for making 308 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 2: sure that workers are protected and well? The answer is yes, 309 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 2: it's the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA that 310 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 2: is supposed to do just that. 311 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: Now. 312 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,920 Speaker 2: After Katrina, the costliest storm in US history, OSHA used 313 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 2: a new approach for monitoring post disaster work sites. 314 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,120 Speaker 1: It was first created as. 315 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 2: An emergency response to the cleanup efforts from the nine 316 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:08,159 Speaker 2: to eleven attacks, and it meant suspending enforcement of workplace 317 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:16,440 Speaker 2: standards after disasters. Yes, suspending enforcement of workplace standards after disasters, 318 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 2: and instead they usually only are now handing out advice 319 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,959 Speaker 2: on quick ways to fix health and safety hazards solutions. 320 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 2: In fact, that might prove insufficient, right. 321 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 3: My dear, But only two years after Katrina, experts from 322 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 3: UCLA warned that this approach left Latino workers and I 323 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 3: quote unprotected. Their studies showed barriers like language and legal 324 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 3: status left workers unable to negotiate workplace safety. 325 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 2: And the study also warned that the negative impact of 326 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:57,160 Speaker 2: OSHA's policies on workers' health could be quote duplicated throughout 327 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 2: the country unquote, without rigorous over. 328 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 3: And yet after months of digging, our team found that 329 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 3: OSHA continues to implement this same post Katrina policy that 330 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 3: favors fast recovery over worker safety, ignoring years of federal 331 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 3: research on workplace safeguards. 332 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 2: And in an internal OSHA report, the agency argued that 333 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 2: just giving advice to employers would in fact address dangerous 334 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 2: hazards while avoiding the long bureaucratic process of issuing a 335 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 2: formal citation. But the reality is that without enforcing existing 336 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 2: labor standards, there are no other ways to pressure contractors 337 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 2: to fix those health and safety hazards. So to get 338 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 2: a sense of how the policy is implemented on the ground, 339 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 2: we spoke with an OSHA employee who has visited hundreds 340 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 2: of post disaster work sites since Katrina. We're gonna call 341 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 2: him Brian, and we're protecting his identity because he's not 342 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 2: allowed to speak with the media. Brian described a work 343 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 2: site in New Orleans where none of the workers had 344 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: the protective equipment that they needed. 345 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 6: When we talked to them, the owner told us he 346 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,239 Speaker 6: yelled at us, you're going to screw the recovery. We 347 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 6: cannot comply with OSHER because it takes too much time 348 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 6: and costs too much money. 349 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 2: That is not Brian's real voice. One of our colleagues 350 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 2: at Latin USA has recorded his answers just as he 351 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 2: said them to us. Brian told us that he and 352 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 2: his colleagues face hostility from contractors. One time, one called 353 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 2: a colleague of Brian's quote an ignorant broad Still, there's 354 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 2: little that they can do in response. Once, when a 355 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 2: contractor refused to provide protective equipment, Brian says, he thought 356 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 2: to himself. 357 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 6: Oh my god, if this was an enforcement inspection, every 358 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 6: one of the hazards that we're finding would be a 359 00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 6: wilful violation because the man is saying he's refusing to 360 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,199 Speaker 6: comply with OSHA. He knows what the regulations are and 361 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 6: he's refusing to comply. 362 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 2: Listening to Brian, I had to ask, do you think 363 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 2: you're able to do your job regarding a disaster if 364 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 2: you don't have that enforcement tool to literally force employers 365 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,120 Speaker 2: to keep their workers safe. 366 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 6: It's frustrating. Sometimes it's frustrating because we talk to them 367 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,640 Speaker 6: and we give them information, and when we leave, we're 368 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 6: wondering if they're going to comply or they're just going 369 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 6: to ignore it. 370 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 3: Maria, what Brian told you echoes what our team found. 371 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 3: Nailing down OSHA's approach to monitoring post disaster work sites 372 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,400 Speaker 3: was difficult, but once we did it, with the help 373 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 3: of public records, we were able to analyze how it 374 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,719 Speaker 3: was implemented on the ground. Powerful Hurricane Ian gave us 375 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 3: that opportunity. Ian devastated southwest Florida in September twenty twenty two, 376 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 3: and it was the most recent disaster during our reporting. 377 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 3: We reviewed reports and found that Ocean inspectors often spend 378 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 3: only about fifteen minutes in each of the hundreds of 379 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 3: work sites they visited. While inspectors did flag hazards like 380 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,680 Speaker 3: roofing without a harness, all they did was handout information 381 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,919 Speaker 3: material and they did most of the inspections from outside 382 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 3: the structures. They rarely went inside to review the work practices. 383 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 1: So they go and hand on information. 384 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 2: And what happens to the companies that received this quote 385 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 2: unquote advice or guidance from these Ocean inspectors. 386 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 3: Well, that's a difficult question to answer. The agency has 387 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 3: poor record keeping, It doesn't track activities related to its 388 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 3: post disaster policy. Or companies violations across disasters, and it 389 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 3: is so important, Maria to have those records because it 390 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 3: can help spot potential troubled companies. 391 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,160 Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, no matter what 392 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 2: guidance Oshaw offers, the guidance only works if the employer 393 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 2: is deemed responsible for keeping workers safe. So we're going 394 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 2: to meet the person who created OSHA's post disaster policy. 395 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 2: Our team interviewed John Henshaw, who wrote the guidance during 396 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 2: the George W. Bush administration when he was the Department 397 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 2: of Labour's assistant secretary. 398 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 3: That's right, Mada. We visited him last March in his 399 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 3: Sanobel Island office in Florida. Hi, Maria and I see you. 400 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 8: Good to meet you. 401 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,440 Speaker 3: Thanks for our team connected with Hanshaw and his current 402 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 3: role as Senebel Island City council member. We spoke just 403 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 3: months after Hurricane Ian devastated his community in September twenty 404 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 3: twenty two. When Henshaw welcomed us into his office, I 405 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 3: noticed the conference room's walls covered in nine to eleven 406 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,120 Speaker 3: photos and memorabilia. He spoke about the nine to eleven 407 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 3: cleanup in detail, as the terrorist attacks set the tone 408 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 3: for a new federal approach post disasters. He enthusiastically shared 409 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 3: his praise and respect for first responders. 410 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 8: We were fortunate that we were working together on the 411 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 8: same issue. Protect the workers, make sure we don't lose 412 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 8: another life, rescue as many people as we can, and 413 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,240 Speaker 8: recover as quickly as we can, So everybody was on 414 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 8: the same page. 415 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,960 Speaker 3: Then he offered a different perspective on the workers cleaning 416 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 3: and rebuilding his wealthy island. 417 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,479 Speaker 8: Oftentimes you have unskilled people, and many of them, and 418 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 8: I'm sure we had a good number here recent immigrants 419 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:04,720 Speaker 8: who have a different risk tolerance than maybe we have 420 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 8: in the United States. 421 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 2: This is a statement that is just hard to hear, 422 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 2: to say that just because they're immigrants, they're recent immigrants, 423 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 2: they have a different risk tolerance. I think everybody wants 424 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 2: to work in safe conditions and be alive at the 425 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 2: end of the day, right. 426 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 3: Mighty yat yes. And he also downplayed the skills and 427 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 3: needed to clean and rebuild. 428 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 8: Just not a skilled labor. It's really just knocking down 429 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 8: drywall and pulling it out and hauling off to the curve. 430 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 8: So it's more of a labor kind of laborer's kind 431 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 8: of work. As opposed to any kind of skill. 432 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 3: When we asked him about hurricane recovery efforts, this is 433 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 3: what he said, I. 434 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 8: Put myself in the employer's shoes, the employers talking to 435 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 8: the to the homeowner's Where the pressure is, Ohshad, It 436 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 8: should be holding the employer accountable for doing it, doing 437 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 8: what they need to do, do it right now. The 438 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 8: employer is saying I got to deal with my client 439 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,760 Speaker 8: and they're putting pressure on me to get it done. 440 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 2: What about putting yourself in the shoes of the workers. 441 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 2: I mean, it's frankly shocking to hear the former assistant 442 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 2: Secretary of Labor for OSHA speaking like this about who 443 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 2: matters most workers or employers. 444 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 3: We also reached out to the current OSHA leadership multiple 445 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 3: times we shared our findings, but the agency declined to 446 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:46,760 Speaker 3: make Assistant Secretary Douglas Parker available for an interview. Instead, 447 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,880 Speaker 3: they provided a written statement stressing that quote, employers have 448 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 3: the responsibility to protect workers from deadly hazards such as mold, asbestos, 449 00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 3: and lead. Ultimately, though OSHA defenses pol let's. 450 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,680 Speaker 2: See a policy that, as we just heard earlier from Brian, 451 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 2: our source at OSHA, a policy that employers basically sometimes 452 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 2: just ignore, leaving workers like brothers Mariano and Santos again 453 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 2: unsafe and unprotected. So, dear listener, as we're unpacking this huge, 454 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 2: multi billion dollar disaster recovery industry, you might be wondering 455 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 2: about how companies hire workers but avoid having to provide 456 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 2: let's say, training and protective equipment. Who's trying to solve 457 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 2: this problem? In fact, and who is profiting? That's coming 458 00:32:46,000 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 2: up after the break, stay with us, not Bayes. Hey, 459 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 2: dear listener, welcome back. And before the break, we heard 460 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 2: about how OSHA, the government agency tasked with protecting workers, 461 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 2: often suspends the enforcement of labor standards after disasters hit. 462 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:23,880 Speaker 2: The agency offers employers guidance onhealth and safety hazards, rarely 463 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 2: issuing citations, just offering advice. This ultimately leaves workers unprotected 464 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 2: and exposed to harmful toxins that can make them sick. 465 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 2: But where do the workers doing this toxic labor come from? 466 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:43,640 Speaker 2: That supply chain is more complicated than just employers and workers. 467 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:48,960 Speaker 2: In fact, most workers are hired by labor brokers that 468 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 2: provide the manpower for companies receiving those lucrative cleaning contracts. 469 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:58,680 Speaker 2: And ultimately letting those companies off the hook because of 470 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:04,760 Speaker 2: those brokers, which leaves immigrants like Mariano and Santos unprotected 471 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 2: and vulnerable. 472 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:09,319 Speaker 3: That's right, Maria and Santos told me that he kept 473 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:13,279 Speaker 3: working even after he felt sick. Within two years of 474 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 3: grueling work demolishing moldy structures and being exposed to asbestos 475 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,359 Speaker 3: and led, he needed an inhaler for the first time 476 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:22,040 Speaker 3: in his life. 477 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:26,280 Speaker 4: Yemerguerdo yang is aima reguerdo. 478 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,960 Speaker 3: He remembers the year well. It was two thousand and seven, 479 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,720 Speaker 3: the same year his mother died thousands of miles away 480 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:39,759 Speaker 3: in Hondudas. Cleaning after hurricanes became Santo's livelihood in the US, 481 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 3: but he was familiar with their destruction long before. It 482 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 3: was the wrath of Hurricane Mitch that forced them to 483 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 3: migrate to the United States. 484 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 5: In late October nineteen ninety eight, a tropical storm in 485 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:55,680 Speaker 5: the Southwest Caribbean suddenly intensified into one of the strongest 486 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,399 Speaker 5: hurricanes this century. A meteorologists called it Mitch. 487 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 3: Midge destroyed on Nuras in nineteen ninety eight, causing more 488 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,360 Speaker 3: than five thousand deaths and over four billion dollars in 489 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 3: economic losses. It contaminated the Chulutika River, where Santos used 490 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,480 Speaker 3: to fish for work. Then one of his sons needed 491 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 3: surgery a year later. Without a source of income to 492 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,239 Speaker 3: feed his children and the urgency to pay for health care, 493 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 3: he decided to migrate north. He first settled in Texas, 494 00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 3: then moved to Louisiana. Mariano, his younger brother, joined him 495 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,040 Speaker 3: a few years later in two thousand and five. Now, 496 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,359 Speaker 3: Mariano also suffers from the long term effects from being 497 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,000 Speaker 3: exposed to toxins. 498 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:45,880 Speaker 4: Muraya nosalez uryan as an inclusive tango, the opianzo catango 499 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 4: burke no aventida. 500 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 3: Mariano said he often wakes up in the middle of 501 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,520 Speaker 3: the night tasting a salty liquid, only to realize his bleeding. 502 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,760 Speaker 3: He doesn't know if he's coming from his nose or mouth. 503 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,160 Speaker 2: I'm imagining that this is a quite lonely experience is 504 00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:04,840 Speaker 2: for them because these health conditions, I mean, they realized 505 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:09,520 Speaker 2: that no one is actually documenting what they're feeling until now. 506 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,600 Speaker 3: Yes, and Maria, you should know that there is an 507 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,640 Speaker 3: overlap with your reporting from almost two decades ago. A 508 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:20,120 Speaker 3: third of the workers we interviewed actually worked on Katrina 509 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,880 Speaker 3: in two thousand and five, and today, while companies are 510 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 3: profiting off of disasters, workers are still facing similar challenges. 511 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:31,400 Speaker 3: I saw it myself when I was reporting in Florida. 512 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:37,040 Speaker 3: It was months after Hurricane Ian made landfall in the 513 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,080 Speaker 3: state in September of twenty twenty two. 514 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 9: It's hell on earth as Hurricane Ian slams into Florida. 515 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:49,080 Speaker 2: And you know, those images from Hurricane Ian were particularly devastating. 516 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,120 Speaker 2: The storm's deadly winds ripped so many homes to shreds, 517 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 2: lifted entire buildings off the ground, left miles of homes flooded. 518 00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 2: One hundred and fifty p people were killed during inan 519 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 2: and it coused one hundred and twelve billion dollars in damages. 520 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,280 Speaker 3: And just like after other natural disasters, workers came looking 521 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:16,280 Speaker 3: for jobs. We went to Fort Myers in southwest Florida 522 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:18,360 Speaker 3: to see how the industry operates. 523 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:18,640 Speaker 8: Now. 524 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 3: It's just after sunrise and a weekday in March. I'm 525 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,320 Speaker 3: standing in the parking lot next to a gas station 526 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:34,480 Speaker 3: where small groups of day laborers wait for jobs. It's 527 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,800 Speaker 3: been six months since Hurricane Ian ravaged the city of 528 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:42,040 Speaker 3: about eighty six thousand residents in September of twenty twenty two. 529 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 3: Now the work is dwindling. When a white pickup truck 530 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 3: stops dozens of immigrants crowded. They're wearing dirty jeans, tennis 531 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:58,600 Speaker 3: shoes instead of the construction boots needed to avoid injuries, 532 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:04,400 Speaker 3: and they have no other protective equipment. A young man 533 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 3: who appears to be in his twenties hangs off the 534 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 3: driver's window. He holds a navy blue backpack and stands 535 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,399 Speaker 3: taller than the men around him competing for the same job. 536 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:19,439 Speaker 3: What do you need, boss, he asked the driver. After 537 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 3: negotiating the raid, the driver tells the men hovering around 538 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:30,239 Speaker 3: only one. The lone worker hops inside. Disappointed, the rest 539 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,160 Speaker 3: of the sun kissed laborers walk away to wait for 540 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:37,040 Speaker 3: another truck. Most of them are newly arrived and undocumented 541 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:43,239 Speaker 3: immigrants from Honduda's Guatemala, Haiti and other countries. Most are 542 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,520 Speaker 3: afraid to speak with us about talks and exposure. 543 00:38:53,800 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 4: Used the Epistamosati help, yes. 544 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 3: What was going to be? 545 00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:01,879 Speaker 2: Then? 546 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,560 Speaker 3: I spoke with a teenager from Watemala of Mike, who's 547 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,479 Speaker 3: looking for work. He's five three. I only know because 548 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 3: he's my height. He was worried about going to work hungry. 549 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:17,320 Speaker 3: He described the unique stomach pains brought on by hunger. 550 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,439 Speaker 3: Only those who have experienced it can recognize it, he said. 551 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 3: Then he showed me the apple in his backpack, his 552 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,920 Speaker 3: only meal for the day. The risk of being exposed 553 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 3: to dangerous toxins was not on his radar. 554 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:36,560 Speaker 2: Marinez, you know, I remember hearing about those same hunger 555 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:39,759 Speaker 2: pains and the fear of deportation back when I was 556 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:42,320 Speaker 2: in New Orleans in two thousand and five after Katrina, 557 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 2: And so again, it's just alarming to hear how these 558 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,960 Speaker 2: same conditions are repeating decades later. 559 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,440 Speaker 3: That's true, Maria, But now there are people who are 560 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:57,120 Speaker 3: trying to help, even if it's mostly other workers. We 561 00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:00,200 Speaker 3: saw it on display last March in New Orleans. 562 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:02,879 Speaker 4: The DNA. 563 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:05,440 Speaker 1: Who Knows. 564 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:10,200 Speaker 3: Volunteers from the grassroots organization Familias Unidas and Excion handed 565 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:14,839 Speaker 3: out construction masks, COVID tests, and provided information through their 566 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 3: community health program known as PROMOALD. The focus is to 567 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:24,960 Speaker 3: promote workers' health. The organization also holds workplace safety training. 568 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 3: Mario Mendoza founded the organization with his wife, Lidicia Casildo. 569 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:39,480 Speaker 3: They both worked in cleanups after Katrina and quickly realized 570 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,479 Speaker 3: immigrants needed a support system. They've stepped in to feed 571 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:47,480 Speaker 3: and help evacuate undocumented immigrants during natural disasters. 572 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:55,040 Speaker 4: Perro Mics and the. 573 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:02,640 Speaker 3: Mariio is wearing a bright green T shirt promoting a 574 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:06,200 Speaker 3: campaign to allow undocumented immigrants to get a driver's license 575 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:09,840 Speaker 3: in Louisiana. His short salt and pepper hair is a 576 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,359 Speaker 3: messy from when he puts his breading glasses on his head. 577 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,800 Speaker 3: He told me he was tired of waiting for change. 578 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:20,040 Speaker 3: He realized he needed to step up and speak up 579 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:24,400 Speaker 3: and organize for better working conditions system. 580 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:32,960 Speaker 4: There is the piece, soa Mario said. 581 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:37,200 Speaker 3: The system is not designed to help undocumented workers. He said, quote, 582 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,719 Speaker 3: they don't care about the workers, They just care about 583 00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 3: their labor. 584 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:49,080 Speaker 2: So what Mario told you, Maria Nez, speaks to how 585 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 2: this industry has shielded companies from accountability and this is 586 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:59,080 Speaker 2: how they do it. No special certification is needed to 587 00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 2: join the disaster restoration business, which attracts traditional construction companies, 588 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:09,680 Speaker 2: and since most workers are hired through labor brokers. As 589 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,919 Speaker 2: we said previously, the companies don't have to worry about 590 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:16,480 Speaker 2: worker safety because they weren't the ones who actually hired 591 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:21,440 Speaker 2: the workers, making matters worse. The sector has gone largely 592 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,440 Speaker 2: under the public's radar. 593 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,560 Speaker 3: So to understand this industry, let's focus on one company 594 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:29,280 Speaker 3: as an example. 595 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:30,680 Speaker 1: Will you serve Pro. 596 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,880 Speaker 3: It's a popular disaster restoration company worth a billion dollars. 597 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:39,279 Speaker 3: It lends its name to over two thousand franchises worldwide, 598 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:43,120 Speaker 3: and in twenty twenty, the COVID pandemic created a unique 599 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:47,319 Speaker 3: opportunity for workers to demand personal protective equipment and better 600 00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:48,239 Speaker 3: working conditions. 601 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:51,360 Speaker 2: And that was the case of a group of workers 602 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:55,400 Speaker 2: who traveled to Michigan after a dam failed from unseasonably 603 00:42:55,560 --> 00:43:01,920 Speaker 2: heavy rains. Workers filed a lawsuit against serf Pro Industries, 604 00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:06,440 Speaker 2: the national corporation, the serf Pro franchise in Michigan, and 605 00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:11,279 Speaker 2: several subcontractors. They alleged that they were denied proper health 606 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:15,719 Speaker 2: and safety gear as they toured down water logged buildings 607 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:20,120 Speaker 2: filled with mold. The workers also argued that their employers 608 00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:24,560 Speaker 2: violated the public Health Executive Order signed at the time 609 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:28,560 Speaker 2: by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in order to stop the 610 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:34,960 Speaker 2: spread of the coronavirus. John Filo is with the Detroit 611 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:38,960 Speaker 2: based Sugar Law Center. He represents the workers, and he 612 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,439 Speaker 2: said the system makes it hard to hold those big 613 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:45,640 Speaker 2: companies accountable for worker safety. 614 00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:50,640 Speaker 9: That company divorcing itself from any sort of responsibility to 615 00:43:50,719 --> 00:43:54,759 Speaker 9: the workers artificially right by entering into a contract with 616 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:58,520 Speaker 9: a subcontractor who's a labor broker, who then in turn 617 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:02,439 Speaker 9: entered into another contract with another sub broker, And each 618 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 9: step down the line, what you see is the next 619 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:11,480 Speaker 9: lowest company has far less capacity to, let's say, and 620 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 9: implement health and safety concerns. 621 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:17,680 Speaker 3: Serf Pro Industries, based in Tennessee, argued that it had 622 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,400 Speaker 3: no legal duty to the workers hired by self contractors. 623 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:25,040 Speaker 3: The company went as far as calling the workers quote 624 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:29,720 Speaker 3: total strangers in a court filing, and the judge presiding 625 00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:32,800 Speaker 3: over the case cited with serf Pro saying that it 626 00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,520 Speaker 3: only had jurisdiction over the local franchise. 627 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,800 Speaker 9: What the court is saying is that despite them having 628 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,960 Speaker 9: franchises literally that are serving every county of this state, 629 00:44:43,719 --> 00:44:46,600 Speaker 9: our clients would have to go to the home county 630 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,839 Speaker 9: of serf Pro in Tennessee to sue them, in this case, 631 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:53,880 Speaker 9: a county where none of them live, where none of 632 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:57,839 Speaker 9: them worked, where none of the injuries occurred that has 633 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,440 Speaker 9: no connection whatsoever the so then it's the hometown of 634 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,759 Speaker 9: the people who are being sued that's offensive. 635 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:09,480 Speaker 2: Serf Pro declined to answer any specific questions related to 636 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:13,920 Speaker 2: the lawsuit, saying that as a franchiser, it quote does 637 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:20,120 Speaker 2: not provide contract or subcontract any direct services and thus 638 00:45:20,719 --> 00:45:25,800 Speaker 2: is not responsible to workers. The franchise and subcontractors denied 639 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,800 Speaker 2: the allegations. Now, this profitable business model has made disaster 640 00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:36,200 Speaker 2: restoration companies desirable targets for acquisition, according to a twenty 641 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:41,240 Speaker 2: twenty three report by the Equity Stakeholder Project. The report 642 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:46,040 Speaker 2: shows how private equity firms acquired seventy two disaster restoration 643 00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:50,000 Speaker 2: companies over the previous three and a half years. Doesn't 644 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:53,520 Speaker 2: specify how much money is there, but we know it's 645 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:58,920 Speaker 2: in the billions. For example, Blackstone, the king of private equity, 646 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:03,320 Speaker 2: paid over a billion dollars to acquire serve Pro in 647 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:10,920 Speaker 2: twenty nineteen. On the federal level, there are some efforts 648 00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:12,240 Speaker 2: to help these workers. 649 00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:16,239 Speaker 10: People aren't asking the roofer or whoever is rebuilding your 650 00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,600 Speaker 10: home what their immigration status is. They're just very grateful 651 00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:21,360 Speaker 10: that somebody is helping them to rebuild. 652 00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:26,280 Speaker 2: This is Congresswoman Promila Giapaul, a Democrat from Washington State, 653 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:32,480 Speaker 2: and last September, Giapaul reintroduced the Climate Resilience Workforce Act, 654 00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:36,160 Speaker 2: which she first presented in twenty twenty two in the 655 00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:40,520 Speaker 2: House of Representatives. In a first her proposal would establish 656 00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:45,000 Speaker 2: a temporary immigrant status for these restoration laborers. 657 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:49,600 Speaker 10: I'm hoping to start with doing field hearings where we 658 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:52,919 Speaker 10: invite our colleagues across the aisle to come as well, 659 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:58,120 Speaker 10: and to hear from Republicans and Democrats how undocumented immigrants 660 00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,719 Speaker 10: have been building their community back but have little to 661 00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:06,560 Speaker 10: no protections from the dangers of their jobs, like physical risks, 662 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:09,680 Speaker 10: but also employers who stiff them on pay. 663 00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,320 Speaker 2: The bill has forty three co sponsors so far, but 664 00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,960 Speaker 2: it hasn't moved past committee. It doesn't address OSHA's role 665 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:23,200 Speaker 2: in all of this either, And I asked Representative Jayapaul why. 666 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,160 Speaker 10: I think once we get the program, we can also 667 00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:29,920 Speaker 10: make sure in other bills that we're addressing some of 668 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:35,240 Speaker 10: the oversight and accountability. But this is really a workforce establishment, 669 00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:40,160 Speaker 10: you know, a pathway workforce, pathway establishment bill. And if 670 00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:42,200 Speaker 10: we can get this done, listen, if we can add 671 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:44,799 Speaker 10: some of those accountability provisions that would be great. 672 00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:53,360 Speaker 2: Now, it is good news to hear that someone in 673 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,120 Speaker 2: Congress is concerned about the safety of these immigrant laborers. 674 00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:00,920 Speaker 2: But after listening to Mariano and those talk about the 675 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:04,000 Speaker 2: incredible toll that this work has taken on them, it's 676 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:07,360 Speaker 2: clear that the issue isn't moving with the urgency that 677 00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:12,879 Speaker 2: it needs in order to address specific toxin exposure. As 678 00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 2: an example, in March, the federal government announced a ban 679 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,840 Speaker 2: on the only type of asbestos still used in the country. 680 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:23,400 Speaker 2: It's known as white asbestos, and it's commonly present in 681 00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:24,520 Speaker 2: construction material. 682 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:29,360 Speaker 1: But it took more than thirty years to issue this rule, and. 683 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:32,279 Speaker 2: It could take up to twelve more years for all 684 00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:35,480 Speaker 2: companies to stop using the dangerous carcinogen. 685 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:39,280 Speaker 1: So the problem just continues. 686 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:46,480 Speaker 3: Today. Santos and Mariano still work together on disaster cleanup, 687 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:49,960 Speaker 3: but now they wear protective equipment they can afford. 688 00:48:51,600 --> 00:49:00,040 Speaker 2: Ja. Yes, yes, Marco Wante. 689 00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:03,399 Speaker 3: Santos recently sent me a video proudly showing me him 690 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:06,080 Speaker 3: and his brother at a work site wearing masks and 691 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:10,680 Speaker 3: gloves they bought themselves to lessen talks and exposure, and 692 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:15,080 Speaker 3: Mariano is also working for Resilience Force. It's another workers 693 00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:23,040 Speaker 3: rights organization advocating for restoration workers, and Mario the worker 694 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:26,879 Speaker 3: and activists is still focusing on creating strong mutual aid 695 00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:31,799 Speaker 3: in his community, a lesson he learned at home back 696 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:36,040 Speaker 3: in Ondudas. He remembers sitting under a mango tree while 697 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:40,719 Speaker 3: enjoying the shade and savoring the fruit together. Mario's father told. 698 00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:49,719 Speaker 4: Him abe sizu testova para tusijo tusi, who's tutinus cazimbra 699 00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:51,960 Speaker 4: para futuu lu. 700 00:49:53,880 --> 00:49:56,640 Speaker 3: His father told him his great grandfather planted the tree, 701 00:49:57,239 --> 00:50:00,400 Speaker 3: knowing he wouldn't get to taste the mangos himself, but 702 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:05,000 Speaker 3: his family would. The takeaway from Mario is clear, you 703 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:08,600 Speaker 3: plant the seats of community and then you wait for 704 00:50:08,680 --> 00:50:09,840 Speaker 3: the fruits of their labor. 705 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:32,160 Speaker 2: Toxic Labor is a project of Futuro Investigates in collaboration 706 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:37,120 Speaker 2: with the Center for Public Integrity and Colombia Journalism Investigations. 707 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:42,080 Speaker 2: This investigation was reported by marines A Mulio, Samantha McCabe, 708 00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:46,640 Speaker 2: Janelle Redca, and Shaque Juang. It was edited by Mcnelie 709 00:50:46,640 --> 00:50:50,680 Speaker 2: Torres from the Center for Public Integrity and Kristin Lombardi 710 00:50:50,880 --> 00:50:55,759 Speaker 2: from Colombia Journalism Investigations. This episode was produced by Marine Sa, 711 00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:59,799 Speaker 2: Mulio Noor Saudi and Broxa na Guire. It was at 712 00:50:59,840 --> 00:51:03,560 Speaker 2: A did by Andrea Lobez Crusado, scoring and sound design 713 00:51:03,840 --> 00:51:07,440 Speaker 2: by Jacob Rossari. It was mixed by Stephanie Lebou and 714 00:51:07,600 --> 00:51:11,520 Speaker 2: Julia Caruso. Peter Nubitt Smith did fact checking for US 715 00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:16,000 Speaker 2: legal review by Michael Rothberg. The Public Integrity team also 716 00:51:16,120 --> 00:51:21,160 Speaker 2: includes Matt de Rienzo, Janine Jones, Ashley Clark, Vanessa Friedman, 717 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:25,280 Speaker 2: and Charlie Dodge. To find out more information about toxic 718 00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:29,879 Speaker 2: labor and read our web article, visit Futuro investigates dot 719 00:51:30,120 --> 00:51:34,399 Speaker 2: Org Again, that's Futuro Investigates dot Org. 720 00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:36,800 Speaker 1: The Latino USA team also. 721 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:42,320 Speaker 2: Includes Victori Estrada, Renaldo Leanos Junior, Rodi Matt Marquez, Marta Martinez, 722 00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:46,560 Speaker 2: Mike Sargent, and Nancy Trujillo. Penilee Ramirez is our co 723 00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:51,040 Speaker 2: executive producer. Our marketing manager is Res Luna. Our theme 724 00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:54,960 Speaker 2: music was composed by Zane Rouinos. I'm Maria Ino Josa, 725 00:51:55,239 --> 00:51:58,640 Speaker 2: your host and co executive producer, and we'll see you 726 00:51:58,680 --> 00:51:59,880 Speaker 2: on our next episode and. 727 00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:12,279 Speaker 3: Joe Latino USA is made possible in part by the 728 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:19,000 Speaker 3: Tao Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 729 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,840 Speaker 3: a partner with communities where children come first.