Forest workers air their grievances

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Story Published: Jan 31, 2007 at 5:32 PM PST

By Andy Peterson

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Workers are hired by contractors to work the forest lands, and those workers tell us that, while there are plenty of good contractors out there, there are some who are abusive.

"From my perspective, I've worked in the woods for 30 years," says forest worker CeCe Headley, "and I think it's the best job you could possibly have. That said, you can suck the fun out of anything."

Headley was just one of the forest workers to attend a forum Wednesday at the U of O, a chance to speak with federal officials about how workers are treated by contractors in the field.

"Some of them, their conditions are quite good and they want to go to work everyday, and they're wonderful," says Cassandra Moseley of the UO's Ecosystem Workforce Program, which recently completed a study of forest workers. "And other people, you just can't believe that it's happening."

"They're worked like dogs," Headley elaborates. "They're in substandard housing, they're in substandard vehicles, as I said. They're not treated with respect and dignity, and they're not paid well."

In fact, some of the workers we spoke with today said they didn't even want to have their faces shown on camera, out of concerns that just by being here at this event, they could potentially lose their jobs.

This event is part of the US Department of Agriculture's increased efforts to hold contractors accountable.

"We asked our contract administrators take a more aggressive role," says U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, "in making sure that H2B, temporary forest workers, were treated in accordance with existing law."

That includes an increase in random inspections of job sites looking for abuses. Workers like Headley tell us that it's a start.

"What we used to say in tree planting, is they care very deeply about the health of the tree, and don't look at all to the person planting the tree," Headley explains. "So that's what the change that we're looking for."

Those inspections have been underway for the past year, and officials with the USDA and Department of Labor say they wanted to get feedback before the next planting season begins.

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