Tag:

Oregon OSHA

Lawmakers end Oregon’s lowest-in-nation OSHA penalties

A bill to toughen OSHA penalties is on its way to Governor Kotek’s desk after committee room drama and a failed GOP attempt to gut the bill. 

Less talk and more action this Workers Memorial Day

Oregon is often seen as a model for strong labor standards, but it ranks lowest in the nation when it comes to OSHA penalties.

Labor to lawmakers: Workers’ lives matter

Oregon OSHA has the lowest fines in the nation: The average for a fatal accident is $1,077. Oregon labor wants that to change.

Judge tosses lawsuit against heat/smoke rules

A federal judge has dismissed a business group lawsuit that challenged new rules protecting Oregon workers from heat and smoke. 

Unions protect workers. OSHA protects … contractors?

What is a life worth? According to Oregon OSHA, it seems, $5,400. That's how much it recently fined a company after a worker was killed on the job.

Heat/smoke rules must be defended

As we saw with the heat wave in June 2021, human lives are on the line, and it is absolutely critical that we have strong rules in place. 

Oregon OSHA heat and smoke rules official as of July 1

It took a few years, but Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health agency has finalized rules protecting Oregon workers from heat and smoke.

Oregon OSHA issues emergency heat rule 

It took a frightening three-day heat wave to get action, but on July 8, Oregon OSHA said employers must protect workers during extreme heat.

A regulator with a life-and-death mission: Keeping workers safe

For over 15 years, Michael Wood has been at the helm of Oregon OSHA. The Labor Press caught up with him by Zoom April 8.

Oregon OSHA’s COVID rule is now in force

Oregon OSHA now says employers must protect workers from COVID-19 in all workplaces. Letting them know about it will be the next challenge.

On-the-job fatalities in Oregon in 2017

Forty-eight Oregon workers lost their lives on the job last year. Here are their names.

OSHA fines Ross Island Bridge paint contractor $189,000 for safety violations that led to near-fatal accident

After an accident that seriously injured two workers in a 37' fall, OSHA levies its biggest fine in more than five years, saying contractor Abhe & Svoboda knowingly put workers at risk.

UNSAFE AT WORK

At the ODOT bridge contractor where a 40-foot fall sent two workers to the hospital, at least four former employees say they were let go after complaining of dangerous work conditions.

On-the-job Fatalities in Oregon in 2016

The list of workers killed on the job in Oregon in 2016 — from Oregon-OSHA reports, workers’ comp data, and newspaper accounts.

On-the-job fatalities in Oregon increase

One of last year's on-the-job deaths was a union organizer killed in a car crash.

Abhe & Svoboda fires union salt amid safety complaints

Nonunion paint contractor Abhe & Svoboda faces civil rights, labor and safety complaints on a $22 million Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) painting project underneath the Ross Island Bridge.

UNDER THE ROSS ISLAND BRIDGE: Investigating a low-bid nonunion contractor, a union finds problems aplenty

Under the Ross Island Bridge Feb. 8, a painter plummeted 40 feet and landed on his own son, putting both in the hospital.

Portland Public Schools’ OTHER lead exposure problem

Chips and dust from lead paint are all over the place as Franklin High School undergoes renovation.

Oregon labor honors fallen workers

41 workers died in job-related accidents in Oregon last year.

Operating Engineers Local 701 member killed in crane accident

OSHA is investigating why a 35-foot beam detached and pierced the cab of his crane