The Jefferson Center convened multilingual stakeholder gatherings
Beginning in 1994, The Jefferson Center convened numerous multilingual gatherings of forest workers, non-timber harvesters, and other stakeholders throughout the Pacific West.
For over 20 years, the Medford-based nonprofit Northwest Forest Worker Center has served hundreds of Rogue Valley forest workers with resources and counsel around safety and workplace rights.
Now, the Center’s legacy continues on as a program of Ashland-based nonprofit Lomakatsi Restoration Project.
The Rogue Valley is home to one of the most active forestry and wildfire protection services industries in the country. Dozens of forestry companies employ hundreds of workers on a daily basis, who work on public and private lands across Southern Oregon and beyond, reducing hazardous fuel loads to reduce the risk of severe wildfire.
This important work often comes at a cost—forest workers are at high risk of injury and are 9 times more likely to be killed on the job than the average Oregon worker. Unfortunately, despite the hazards, most contractors do not provide adequate safety training for their work crews. Additionally, forest workers are often paid less than a living wage, with few if any benefits.
The Center started the Promotora Program 10 years ago to provide forest workers with practical information they can use right away to keep themselves safe on the job. Their Promotoras de Salud (or Community Health Workers), have since met hundreds of forests workers around the community to deliver trainings and offer safety resources, primarily in Spanish.
In 2019, talks began between the Center and Lomakatsi around a merger to further mutual goals, pool resources, and take advantage of Lomakatsi’s capacity in administration, workforce training and communications. Lomakatsi was seen as a natural fit, as a longtime partner of the Center with a reputation for raising the bar around treatment of forest workers, and a foundational commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Lomakatsi is excited to continue the important work of the Northwest Forest Worker Center and the Promotora Program and give a voice to the hundreds of Latinx forest workers who work in the woods on a daily basis to reduce the risk of wildfire, enhance wildlife habitat, and make the Rogue Valley a safer place to live. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Promotoras are focusing on additional safety trainings based around the protocols Lomakatsi developed for our own workforce.