Karla M. Magaña, Dr. Isaac Castellano
Introduction
Environmental racism is a layered and complicated policy issue. Under the umbrella of environmental racism, scholars have developed literature on racial and targeted labor exploitation.
Pesticide exposure to farmworkers is an overarching concern that is correlated to environmental racism. Intense pesticide exposure targets marginalized populations that do not hold identities of dominant society
This is exemplified by the long history of failed policies and government inaction that heavily affect Farmworkers and marginalized individuals/identities, as noted in the literature
Motivation
“Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, in 2015, almost 36,000 farmworkers experienced an injury event (5.8 per 100 full-time workers) (BLS, 2017a). An estimated 1,900 farmworkers suffered an illness event (31.8 per 10,000 full-time workers).” Chari, R., Kress, A. M., & Madrigano, J. (2018)
Research Question
Does the lack of political power undermine the workplace safety of undocumented workers in the agricultural sector?
Theoretical Framework
The lack of political power that undocumented farmworkers have creates an area susceptible to pesticide exposure.
- Common among racialized work
The agriculture industry will use this demographic as an economic benefit and there is a lack of accountability.
- Exploitation
Research Design
- The independent variable, percentage of undocumented agricultural workforce, will be measured by the Migration Policy Institute (MIP) tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) and the Decennial Census. This is a dataset that provides a state’s total unauthorized population.
- The dependent variable, pesticide exposure, is measured through The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
- The specific dataset is the SENSOR-Pesticides Database, Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR).
Proposed Analysis
- To create a dataset that encapsulates undocumented individuals among the farmworker community
- To increase awareness by creating an interactive map that shows the direct correlation to pesticide exposure and documentation status.
- The goal is to create a clear consensus of the variable correlation and help elaborate on political power dynamics.
Methods
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR)
- Migration Policy Institute (MIP) tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) and the Decennial Census
Data Sample
California, Texas, Washington, Michigan, and Florida the top five states for Acute Pesticide-Related Illnesses from 1998-2011, with California, Texas, and Florida the top states for both illness and immigration rate.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my mentor Dr. Isaac Castellano, other factually of the Department of Political Science , and the Boise State University McNair Program.
Additional Information
For questions or comments about this research, contact Karla Magana at karlamagana@u.boisestate.edu.