Forestry companies contracted by federal agencies often hire foreign workers through the H-2B visa program.
Courtesy of Oregon Department of Forestry
A lawsuit filed earlier this month by former forestry worker Joaquin Barraza-Cortes seeks over $42 million in damages from Ponderosa Reforestation, Ponderosa Timberland and Pine West Reforestation.
The complaint accuses those Rogue Valley forestry companies, which hire foreign workers through the H-2B visa program, of a litany of safety violations including not providing proper training and protective equipment.
In 2022, Barraza-Cortes was hired as a foreign seasonal worker for tree thinning work within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. While using a chainsaw, without formal training according to the lawsuit, he was severely injured by a falling tree limb, resulting in a spinal cord injury. The complaint claims that Barraza-Cortes has since been unable to work or care for himself.
Barraza-Cortes’ former employer, Ponderosa Timberland, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
His attorney, Mayra Ledesma, said that government contracts for forestry work often go to companies that cut costs and don’t provide proper resources.
“They specifically [contract] under the guise of recruiting small businesses,” said Ledesma. “Really what that means is they just want cheap labor. And they know that these labor brokers… go out and they get H-2B workers.”
Foreign workers employed in forestry, especially from Mexico like Barraza-Cortes, are commonly called “pineros.” The American Farm Bureau Association says over 12,000 foreign guest workers had jobs in forestry last year.
Lourdes Sanchez, another attorney for Barraza-Cortes, said migrant workers like her client are often deterred from reporting safety violations.
“The employer has to want you the following year,” said Sanchez. “And that’s also an incentive for not reporting safety issues or not reporting injuries because you want to be invited back the following year.”
The complaint notes Barraza-Cortes had worked for eight seasons with those companies named in the lawsuit before his injury.
Loggers have the highest rate of fatal work injuries according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Story body
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