Multiple Stories, Multiple Marginalities: The Labor-Intensive Forest and Fire Stewardship Workforce in Oregon

Latino/a/x workers perform labor-intensive forestry and fire stewardship work in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, but are not well recognized research practice about wildfire governance. This industry has pervasive issues of unsafe working conditions, inequitable wage practices, violations worker rights, limited opportunity for advancement, a lack recognition inclusion decision making. We draw on literature review practice-based knowledge to make this workforce’s history more visible, from its origins lumber production reforestation expansion into forest stewardship. suggest new conceptual framing “multiple marginalities” that situates workforce as simultaneously crucial our future with subject structural, distributional, recognitional, procedural inequities. recommend approaches can better examine address these inequities, while also acknowledging persistent systemic nature challenges. These include participatory action research, lessons learned advocacy related farmworkers incarcerated workers, Cooperative Extension education programs learner-centered culturally appropriate. Multiple interventions offering outreach, enforcing or reforming law, changing policy must all occur at multiple scales given many drivers marginalities. Study contribute inform expand current conceptions equity environmental justice governance become inclusive workforce.