Last Modified: Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 8:57 a.m.

Goggles. Workboots. Water. Hard hat. Safety harness. Gloves. Dust mask.

Standard gear for a professional work site. No trained workhand would go without.

But in the world of day labor, where work is precious and those who want it aren't always comfortable making demands, safety precautions often are overlooked.

In a bid to change that, and to teach immigrant workers about their rights and their responsibilities to keep themselves healthy enough to work another day, advocates conducted a daylong workshop Saturday at the Graton Day Labor Center. It was part of what they hope will become a national consciousness-raising effort.

The training included crash courses on subjects such as fall prevention, ergonomic lifting, power tool use, risks involved in trenching and excavation, and safe use of cleaning supplies and chemicals.

Beyond the specific equipment and safety measures required by Cal-OSHA in typical work situations, presenters underscored the message that laborers need to look beyond their fear of alienating employers and losing work because they demand safe work conditions.

They also need to be responsible about things like wearing shoes appropriate to the work.

"It's more than just about money. It's your life," Carlos Mares, a day labor leader from Oakland, told more than 40 people assembled for Saturday's workshop.

The meeting was the third in a series held around the region for workers from day labor centers in Graton, Oakland, Mountain View and San Francisco.

"It's just our way of taking occupational safety into our own hands to protect ourselves and prevent these accidents," said Davin Cardenas, outreach coordinator for the Graton Day Labor Center.

The campaign is based in part on a national study that found 20 percent of day laborers had suffered work-related injuries and that two-thirds of the injured had missed work as a result.

The study also found that accidents sidelined workers for an average 33 days and caused them to work in pain for an average 20 days.

Juan Sandoval, a coordinator at the Hayward day labor center, said he once was speaking with a worker when he realized the man had a bloodied, oozing finger.

The man, Sandoval said, had drilled a hole in his finger while working for a contractor who simply drove him back to the street and dropped him off.

More recently, one of the Hayward workers removed an uncomfortable welding hood and face shield and, after working several more hours, had swollen eyes that may signal permanent damage from ultraviolet rays, he said.

"He was, like, 23. He's young," Sandoval said. "These guys, they do need training."

Day laborers may not know if they'll work or where they're headed on a given day. They make take jobs they're not trained to do in unfamiliar circumstances.

"The problem is, when you're new in this country, you're afraid. So you don't want to ask for something, like kneepads or glasses," said Juan Herrera, who works out of the Graton center.

Though he says he's no longer afraid to walk away from a job that's unsafe, he remembers when he was timid about it.

"I know a lot of people like that, because they don't want to be out of a job," he said.

This is cache, read story here