Oregon union leaders and workers said the state needs to put more safeguards in place to protect employees from harm when they work in dangerous jobs in corrections, behavioral health and others.

They are backing several bills they say would help. Senate Bill 24, for example, would set minimum staffing standards for health care workers in prisons and another proposal not yet introduced would limit mandatory overtime for Oregon Department of Human Services workers in group homes. And 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.

Those proposals are backed up by a survey released Monday by the Oregon American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It found that two-thirds of more than 500 AFSCME workers who responded had experienced physical violence, threats or injury in their workplace and nearly half – 49% – do not feel safe at work all the time.

The survey, included in a broader report, shared the stories of workers on the job about their experiences in sectors like health care, law enforcement and behavioral health settings like the Oregon State Hospital.

As lawmakers press on with the 2025 session, the report sheds light on working conditions of employees, many of them who toil in isolation outside the public eye.

“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.

Gillian Soderstrom, a former correctional officer at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, experienced that circumstance during the 2020 wildfires, when inmates from another prison under threat were moved into her facility.

At one point, she was alone with 120 inmates in a unit with no cameras. Her radio battery died, leaving her with only a landline. For part of the ordeal, she relied on some inmates to keep her safe from others.

“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.

David Lynch, a registered nurse at Oregon State Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, said conditions continue to be dangerous with patients who have high needs and difficulty in hiring staff to meet the demand.

Four years ago, Lynch said, a patient assaulted him. He needed several months off work to recover from a concussion.

“People who are overwhelmed cannot be vigilant,” Lynch said.

Lawmakers at the event stressed the need for action, which includes building upon past legislation. A task force started after House Bill 4002 passed in 2024, for example, made recommendations on how to keep behavioral health workers safer with written safety plans, safety planning and more training and safety assessments.

Lawmakers at the news conference said they support those recommendations.

Health care workers have experienced kicks, bites and beatings, said Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland and vice chair of the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care.

“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 has the ability to recruit and retain the kind of people like we have here who are working today,” Patterson said.

— Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.