Oregon Public Employees Report High Incidence of Workplace Threats and Trauma

The Oregon branch of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) recently released a report titled Unsafe on the Job, drawing attention to understaffing, extreme overtime, and inadequate safety protocols that create untenable workplace conditions.

Union Concerns Over Oregon Workplace Safety

Oregon AFSCNE, representing over 39,000 workers in the government and nonprofit sectors, unveiled their survey results to an audience of over 100 union members who gathered at the state capitol to share their experiences and demand legislative action.

The Unsafe on the Job report reflects responses from over 520 AFSCME members. Almost half of the respondents felt unsafe at work, while 45% experienced insufficient staffing daily. The statistics also reveal alarming experiences of workings, including:

• 67% experience physical violence, threats, or trauma.
• 65% face verbal abuse.
• 36% encounter threats of harm.
• 28% have suffered trauma leading to post-traumatic stress injury or stress disorder.

The Executive Director of Oregon AFSCME, Joe Baessler, emphasized the severity of the situation at a news conference.

He said AFSCNE members go to work every day facing very real threats on the job because of workforce shortages and indicated that the inability to recruit and retain staff is not keeping up with today’s realities.

He called on the legislature to take action to make workplaces safer for workers. Baessler underlined that “The levels of threats and injuries our members are facing are completely unacceptable.”