USA: Low-income & migrant workers face acute job loss owing to devastating Los Angeles fires, while also on the frontline volunteering to rebuild
Migrant and low-income workers have been among the worst impacted by the Los Angeles fires during January 2025. Firefighters, many of them incarcerated and working for below state minimum wage, are on the frontlines to get the fires under control but immigrant day labourers have also been leading on volunteer relief efforts, clean up operations and rebuilding.
A California Occupational Safety & Health official said the department plans to do outreach on the health and safety risks for workers of salvage and reconstruction work, noting the lack of protection from toxic substances as a salient risk. At the same time, thousands of low-income and immigrant workers lost livelihoods and jobs in the LA fires. Many of them work paycheck to paycheck and remain out of work during the response period.
Researchers from the Latino Policy and Politics Institute and the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA published a briefing highlighting systemic inequities in Latino and underserved communities, particularly among outdoor workers, that may be exacerbated if not accounted for in the wildfire recovery effort.
The construction industry is cited as saying the threat of mass deportations from the incoming Trump administration will "significantly" hinder clean up efforts and reconstruction after disasters, owing to the dependence of contractors on migrant day labourers, including undocumented workers, who are afraid to arrive at their workplace.
This page collates some of the risks and impacts facing workers as a result of the LA fires, including both the most acute and longer-term responses.