According to union officials and employees in Oregon, the state should implement more measures to protect workers in hazardous occupations such as behavioral health and incarceration.
They are backing several bills they say would help. Senate Bill 24, for example, would set minimum staffing standards for healthcare workers in prisons and another proposal not yet introduced would limit mandatory overtime for Oregon Department of Human Services workers in group homes. Senate Bill 606 would broaden workers’ compensation benefits to automatically cover post-traumatic stress-related conditions for Oregon State Hospital employees and DHS group home workers.
The Oregon American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees released a survey on Monday that supports those recommendations. Nearly half (49%) of the more than 500 AFSCME employees who replied said they do not always feel safe at work, and two-thirds have experienced physical violence, threats, or injuries at work.
The study, which was part of a larger report, told the experiences of employees in fields such as law enforcement, health care, and behavioral health facilities like Oregon State Hospital.
The research highlights the working conditions of workers, many of whom toil in secret, as lawmakers move forward with the 2025 session.
“No one should work alone when they’re in a dangerous situation,” Joe Baessler, executive director of Oregon AFSCME, said in a news event with workers and legislators.
Yet that happens, workers said.
During the 2020 wildfires, Gillian Soderstrom, a former correctional officer at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, encountered that situation when she had to house convicts from another jail that was under threat.
She once found herself in a camera-free area with 120 prisoners. She only had a landline once her radio’s battery died. She depended on certain prisoners to protect her from other prisoners during a portion of the ordeal.
“The experience was so traumatic that I left the job at the Oregon Department of Corrections and I wasn’t the only one,” said Soderstrom, who returned to the agency for an executive support specialist job.
According to David Lynch, a registered nurse at Oregon State Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, the situation remains hazardous due to patients’ high needs and the challenge of finding enough staff to meet demand.
Lynch says he was beaten by a patient four years ago. After suffering a concussion, he had to take many months off from work to recuperate.
“People who are overwhelmed cannot be vigilant,” Lynch said.
During the ceremony, lawmakers emphasized the importance of taking action, including expanding on previous laws. For instance, a task force established following the passage of House Bill 4002 in 2024 offered suggestions on how to keep behavioral health professionals safer through the use of documented safety plans, safety planning, further training, and safety evaluations.
During the press conference, lawmakers expressed their support for those suggestions.
According to Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland, vice chair of the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care, healthcare professionals have been kicked, bitten, and beaten.
“This tells me there is a culture of fear and danger in too many facilities,” Nelson said.
Sen. Deb Patterson, D-Salem and chair of the Senate Health Care Committee said the issues are interconnected. With reduced overtime and more staffing, conditions are safer.
“We need to ensure that the state can recruit and retain the kind of people like we have here who are working today,” Patterson said.
