Worker safety

Construction industry confronts suicide in the ranks

Construction workers commit suicide at three times the national average. More die by suicide than job site injuries or accidents.

Oregon OSHA issues emergency heat rule

JUSTICE FOR SEBASTIAN FRANCISCO PEREZ: A vigil at the United Farm Workers office in Hermiston was one of three held around Oregon July 3 to call for heat protections after a St. Paul nursery worker died June 26 of heat exposure.

COVID close call

IBEW rep Scott Zadow, hospitalized with the virus, says COVID is no joke. This month local labor is partnering PBGC to host vaccine clinics.

40 hours a week is a good rule. Overwork can kill you.

Limiting the work week to 40 hours isn’t just labor’s most important historic win. It also prevents an early death for working people.

Death on the Job: The toll of neglect

For 30 years the national AFL-CIO has been reporting on workplace safety and fatalities on the job. Progress has stalled.

Workers Memorial Day 2021

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, is a day to honor workers who have died on the job, and recommit to fight for a safe work environment.

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.

Providence nurses demand COVID safety

Nearly 100 union nurses from multiple Providence facilities were joined by Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor and Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran at a...

Teachers union blasts Governor Brown for reversal on school reopening

Oregon took months to develop guidelines for safe reopening. Now they won’t be enforced, Governor Kate Brown announced.

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.

Oregon OSHA says employers must protect workers from COVID-19

Not a moment too soon, Oregon OSHA's COVID-19 rule arrives as outbreaks are under way at 76 Oregon workplaces.

UFCW forms PAC to push for COVID-19 workers comp

Local 555 has put $190,100 into a new political action committee that's educating union members about their rights and running online ads.

Mohlis elected chair of SAIF board

The retired leader of the Oregon State Building Trades Council will oversee Oregon’s not-for-profit workers compensation insurance company.

Oregon Building Trades COVID task force lauded as potential model

Since June, the task force has been sharing and promoting best practices, and visiting construction job sites.

Help for workers exposed to COVID? Not in Oregon

Oregon labor has been calling for essential workers who test positive for COVID-19 to be automatically covered by workers’ comp.

Heat kills

A warming planet is increasing the risk of dying from heat, but OSHA has ignored calls to protect workers.

Reopening schools: What do teachers think?

Is it possible for schools to reopen safely? Can online learning replace in-person instruction? We asked Portland teachers union president Elizabeth Thiel.

AFL-CIO’s OSHA suit dismissed

COVID-19 has killed more workers in a shorter time than any other health emergency in OSHA's 50-year existence, but the agency has refused to require employers to take any specific action to protect workers.

Fund set up for two ironworkers hurt in roof collapse

James Sackett and Justin Rothgeb, members of Iron Workers Local 29, were badly injured June 10, when a roof partially collapsed on the new Portland General Electric headquarters under construction in Tualatin.

AFL-CIO sues OSHA

COVID-19 has caused more deaths among workers in a shorter time than any other health emergency in OSHA's 50-year existence, yet the agency hasn’t required employers to take any action to protect people on the job.

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