In 2003, Latino workers comprised nearly 10 percent of the Oregon labor force, up from three percent in 1990. According to the Oregon Employment Department, Oregon's Latino labor force grew almost three times as fast as the U.S. average between 1990 and 2003, from 49,000 to 181,000, a 269 percent increase. Schwabe says, "We, as a state, had a real need in this area. I invited insurers to be a part of developing and testing the materials, and SAIF was the only insurer to respond."
The mission of OR-OSHA's Public Education Section, where Schwabe works, is to provide the knowledge and tools to advance self-sufficiency in workplace safety and health. With that in mind, Schwabe created PESO (Programa en Español de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo de OR-OSHA). Now, SAIF and OR-OSHA work together to present the PESO trainings around the state.
"SAIF's loss control consultants talk to customers about the safety and leadership needs they have," says Diane Hyland-Edwards, regional operations director, Valley Region. "With larger employers, we often introduce Tomás to owners or safety contacts, and they can fill a class all by themselves. However, since 2004, we have also invited smaller employers to send their Spanishspeaking employees to training in a central location. SAIF coordinates the details and brings all the parties together."
PESO began with a need for safety terminology, Schwabe says. "I couldn't find a safety and health glossary in Spanish, so I created one. That took about a year." Today, the OR-OSHA website provides a glossary of 30,000 Spanish/English and English/Spanish occupational safety and health terms.
While developing the glossary, Schwabe also surveyed small, medium, and large businesses to find out what they needed in the way of multi-lingual training. Once the survey was complete, he created 14 one-hour modules on such topics as accident investigation, hazard identification, and safety committees.
Designed to make it easy for employers to train their own employees, each module is printed in a booklet in both Spanish and English, with facing pages containing identical information. The material is written in simple terms at the fifth- and sixth-grade reading level. Each module is designed as a 30- to 60-minute program that can easily be taught on-site.
SAIF promoted the PESO program by sponsoring four, two-hour sessions in Salem, which drew customers from all over the Willamette Valley. Schwabe reached more than 100 Spanishspeaking employees during the first year (2004) using a format that continued until 2006, when SAIF and OR-OSHA moved the PESO trainings from a central location to what is now called "PESO on the Road."
"Customers began to ask for more information about safety leadership," said Hyland-Edwards. "They wanted classes for leaders and supervisors of Spanish-speaking employees."
To meet that need, the first "PESO on the Road" session was a newly developed Safety Leadership workshop. It was held at Bailey Nurseries in Yamhill County in October 2007, and 32 people attended. The second training was held at the OSU extension office in Aurora. Seven employers were invited and 22 people came.
Currently Schwabe is developing a series of longer, three- to four-hour classes that will start in the summer. Topics of those workshops will include hazard communication, ergonomics and back safety, and fall protection.
PESO on the Road at Monrovia Nursery
Monrovia Nursery, a wholesale nursery with up to 550 employees during peak season and an active safety program, recently hosted the third "PESO on the Road," a three-hour Safety Leadership training session. About 80 percent of Monrovia's employees speak Spanish, so the company appreciated the opportunity to provide specialized training for employees in leadership positions.
"We heard rave reviews about Tomás from two coaches who had gone to one of his presentations in Aurora," says Andres Acosta, human resources coach, "so we wanted to bring him here."
At Monrovia, workers are organized into a system of quality teams, and a coach or entrenador, heads up a team of craftsmen (artesanos), terms that are preferred to "supervisors" and "laborers."
About 60 coaches attended the PESO training, with 30 Spanish speakers attending in the morning and 30 English speakers in the afternoon. "More people wanted to come," says Acosta, "but we limited it to those who directly coach teams."
As the training began, Rick Wells, vice president and general manager, asked participants, "What is our number one priority at Monrovia?"
The question was translated into Spanish, and then the group answered enthusiastically, "Seguridad."
Then Schwabe asked, "What does safety mean?"
"Falta de accidentes."
"No accidents."
"Tener en mente de otros."
"Keep others in mind."
"Compasión."
"Compassion."
The leaders in the room agreed that safety means caring for others and preventing accidents.
Then Schwabe asked about leadership. Who are some famous leaders they admire, people who did something positive? This took a little more thought, but soon answers came: Benito Juarez, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mark Buchholz, Monrovia's vice president and chief operations officer in charge of all production operations.
"Why Mark Buchholz?" Schwabe asked. The audience responded that it was Buchholz that began the Monrovia ergonomics stretching program that has helped them prevent many injuries.
When discussing the qualities that make a great leader, the coaches mentioned respect, responsibility, and compassion — qualities they will need as they lead other employees in creating a safe workplace.
"The training was a raging success," says Acosta. "In order to be effective, safety needs to be a part of ongoing processes. In fact, we've invited Tomás back to train our Safety Committee, so we can make sure that we carve these kinds of effective policies into our daily routines and procedures. Since his presentation, people are talking more about safety and accountability, and they have really focused on taking responsibility for a safe working environment at all levels."
"It's been a good partnership," said Schwabe. "The program wouldn't be what it is without SAIF's participation in the planning, testing, and delivery of the educational materials. We've been able to touch a lot more people because of what SAIF does to promote the program."