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 objective of this project is to conduct a timely evaluation of a new updated State occupational heat policy for agriculture (Ag) to inform practical implementation solutions. In the Pacific Northwest, there is a substantial burden of heat-related illness (HRI) among outdoor Ag workers, who are largely foreign-born and Spanish-speaking. While State and Federal policies have the potential to reduce inequities in occupational heat health effects for Ag workers, heat rules may be variably implemented in different local contexts, leading to variable impacts.
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.
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.
In commercial fishing, lives have been lost and lifejackets not worn. The lives lost impact coastal communities and families. Vessel disasters and falls overboard account for most deaths. From 2000-2018 there were ninety-three fishermen who died in Washington and Oregon. Only five were wearing a lifejacket and of them, three were not wearing it properly. Weather decisions, navigation, vessel stability, as well as other prevention strategies are important to reduce vessel disasters.
Fatal and non-fatal injuries in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors remain both elevated and poorly documented, compared to other work settings. The proposed surveillance project expands on the current Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing, to encompass agriculture, forestry, and fishing in the four state (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) PNASH region.
Project aims are to:
