Anthony Victoria
For 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Anthony Victoria, and this is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is Mariah Bonilla, Project Policy Analyst with the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Thanks for joining us, Mariah.
Mariah Bonilla
Thank you so much for having me.
Anthony Victoria
Of course, so yeah, let's start big picture. Why was it important to publish this report now, and what does it tell us about where California is headed?
Mariah Bonilla
So, a little bit about the report, we've provided a comprehensive look at the conditions shaping Latino communities in the Inland Empire, and so this included Riverside and San Bernardino counties. To do this, we combined both quantitative data analysis with eight semi-structured interviews with workers from the region, and so we really wanted to illuminate their lived experiences. We felt it was very important to publish this report now, because the Inland Empire is at a very critical moment, so we have seen that the region has experienced such tremendous economic and population growth in the region, and over past couple decades, and so really this has been led by Latino workers, really powered largely by our workforce, but at the same time we see that families are still facing, you know, rising housing costs, persistent wage gaps, and challenges to access to health care coverage, and really growing concerns about economic mobility in the region. And so really understanding these trends now is essential because the decisions that policy makers, employers, and community leaders are making today will continue to shape the region's future for decades to come.
Anthony Victoria
Yeah, and what does your report, Mariah, say about the barriers that these workers are facing? I don't know if you're able to provide maybe some examples of that.
Mariah Bonilla
We found that, you know, Latinos now make up 53% of the workforce in the IE, but they are continuing to face persistent wage gaps, and so, for instance, we see large wage disparities for Latino workers in the region, so Latino workers earn lower wages compared to their peers, and Latinas specifically earn the lowest hourly wages at $17 an hour compared to $31 an hour for white men. We also see that Latino workers are more likely to be working in lower paying industries like retail and transportation and warehousing. There is a lack of job benefits in these dominant sectors, even like opportunity to grow in their careers, you know, even if people are working full time, even if many get a college education, they still face housing crisis, a lack of health care coverage, and then where families live impact their health, and so we know that Latino neighborhoods in California, for example, are located much closer to facilities that pollute the air. They experience more extreme heat days on average than non-Latino neighborhoods, and they're twice the share of workers in these neighborhoods working at heat-exposed industries.
Anthony Victoria
What can policy makers in Sacramento, or even local governments here, if they were to read this report and all the research that you all do, what would you want them to take away when it comes to addressing Latino workforce issues, or generally overall just workforce issues across the state?
Mariah Bonilla
Engaging and listening to workers themselves is really key here, you know, understanding that investing in the well-being of Latino workers as a whole can really build a stronger and more resilient Inland Empire for everyone.
Anthony Victoria
Absolutely. Well, Mariah, thank you so much for joining us today. Really appreciate it.
Mariah Bonilla
Thank you so much for having me.
Anthony Victoria
Mariah Bonilla is a project policy analyst with the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcr.org/IE Latino Voices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Anthony Victoria.
