Evaluation

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.

Agricultural workers are exposed to fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke given the nature of their work. The purpose of the proposed study is to explore and compare perceptions of air quality monitoring, health impacts, and hazard communication strategies among Spanish- and English-speaking agricultural employers and employees. Findings from our bilingual survey will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and industry stakeholders.

This proposal seeks to evaluate the impact of the new Oregon overtime law on farmworkers’ work experiences (e.g., wage theft; work overload; stress; job insecurity) and well-being, including mental health. Oregon passed HB 4002 in 2022, which began its five-year phase-in to provide overtime pay to agricultural workers starting in January 2023.

Case study among H-2A foreign visa worker applications.

This project seeks to refine spatial and temporal estimates of wildfire smoke, heat, and dual exposure among region X crop workers. This project will estimate and compare the burden of exposure (worker days at risk) to wildfire smoke (WFS), heat, and dual exposure among crop worker groups.

This project is conducted for reforestation pesticide handlers, a workforce that is largely Latino, faces significant language barriers to accessing label information, and has limited organizational and safety training support. According to U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification data from 2015 to 2021, Oregon has seen a significant increase in H2B forestry guest worker visas, compared to the other states in the country, with Jackson County having the most of H2B workers in the state.