The forest service workforce in the Pacific Northwest is largely immigrant, low-literate, and Spanish-speaking with unique vulnerabilities due to a lack of skills and safety training, occupational immobility, remote work locations, and small contractor employment.
The last decade has seen major shifts in logging technology adoption (increased mechanization) and workforce (high worker turnover and increasingly Spanish-speaking). Logging has a relatively small workforce, yet injuries are often severe and occur at a rate that makes it the nation's most dangerous occupation. US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows logging has the highest fatality rate, 28 times the average worker.
By Marcy Harrington and Pablo Palmández
This article was originally published in the Western Forester Oct/Nov/Dec 2024 Issue. The publication is available in English and in Spanish.
The Northwest’s long-standing occupational health and safety programs, based at the University of Washington, propose a capacity building project for safety and health training of restoration forestry services workers, serving Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Northwestern US faces catastrophic wildfire risks and a rapidly emerging need for forest fuels reduction work. This work relies heavily on manual labor conducted by small private contract forest service firms, small forest landowners, young workers, and Spanish-speaking immigrant workers.
