Worker safety

If there’s one workplace right that stands above the rest, it’s the right to go home safely at the end of the day. In this section, we report on occupational safety and health, workplace toxins, ergonomics, and the agencies that are supposed to protect worker safety.

The 10 most dangerous jobs

Vehicle accidents and falls caused more than half of on-the-job deaths in 2022. Here are the jobs with the highest rates of fatal injuries.

Killed on the job in 2023

Here are the names of the 66 Oregon and Southwest Washington workers who died on the job or from injuries sustained while working last year.

Increasingly, letter carriers face armed robbery

To counter a 200% increase in robberies of letter carriers in the last six years, lawmakers introduced a new bill at their union's request.

Biden’s bad dog: a threat to workplace safety

Virginia Foxx — a ferociously anti-union Republican Congresswoman — is investigating workplace safety at the White House.

Vancouver firm fined in grisly accident is repeat child labor offender

After a 16-year-old lost both legs in a workplace accident, an investigation found Rotschy has committed dozens of child labor law violations.

City of Portland fined for wrecking bar accident

The Aug. 11 workplace accident sent a metal bar through a City of Portland maintenance worker’s stomach.

How to not get carpal tunnel

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries ‘Ideas Bank’ has ergonomics hacks for every industry.

Local 483 raising funds for gravely injured city worker

A City of Portland maintenance worker was impaled by a metal bar at work. His union has launched a fundraiser to support him as he recovers.

Remembering Joe Killian

Because of toxins in burning buildings, cancer deaths for firefighters are considered to be deaths in the line of duty.

Assaulted by children, child welfare workers call for director’s removal

Washington's child welfare workers are at high risk for physical assault and burnout, and the program’s leader is to blame, says WFSE.

Washington updates heat protections for outdoor workers

It’s going to keep getting hotter. And workers need to know how to stay safe in heat.

Murder of health aide shows fears were valid

Cascadia Behavioral Health employee Haley Rogers, a member of AFSCME Local 1790-4, was stabbed to death July 16 by one of her patients.

Rule to protect Washington workers from wildfire smoke moves forward

Washington state’s workplace safety agency has proposed a new rule to protect outdoor workers from wildfire smoke.

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.

Oregon bill would let workers refuse unsafe work

SB 907 passed out of the state Senate with a bipartisan 21-8 vote on April 13 and is now being taken up in the House.

Six tips for coming home safely from your job in construction

We asked construction safety experts: What’s the most important advice you can offer building trades union members?

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.

Assault a bus driver, commit a felony

ATU Local 757 tells Oregon lawmakers assaults on bus drivers are increasing, and asks to tighten a law classifying such assaults as felonies.

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.

To stop harassment, make it inconvenient

Portland-area construction leaders take stock of progress toward more welcoming workplaces over the past two years.

12 3...7 Page 1 of 7

Worker safety

VIEW RECENT ISSUES