Ridgeview HS student students among winners of state contest to promote young worker safety

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Teams of students at Parkrose, Ridgeview, Pendleton and Sutherlin high schools have earned top prizes in a media contest designed to increase awareness about workplace safety for young workers.

High school students across Oregon were invited to participate in the annual contest organized by the Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]). For the first time in the contest’s 13-year history, the 2020-2021 competition featured a graphic design category – in addition to the long-running video category – and a new theme: “Work. It can be more dangerous than you think.”

The top winners in each category were:

Video:

• Safety – The Virtual Way, Parkrose High School – Portland ($500)

Graphic design:

• Don’t Let Your Safety Stumble, Ridgeview High School – Redmond ($500)
• Wire Trip, Pendleton High School ($400)
• Dangerous Work, Sutherlin High School ($300)

Check out the winning submissions and video clips on the (O[yes]) website. The first-place winning teams in each category also earned a matching award for their schools. Students were invited to create a 30- to 90-second video or a graphic design that inspires young workers to think twice about their personal health and safety at work, while highlighting the contest’s theme.

The mission of (O[yes]) is to prevent injuries and illnesses to young workers through outreach, advocacy, and sharing resources with young workers, educators, employers, parents, and labor organizations.

The contest sponsors are SAIF Corporation, Oregon OSHA, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU, SafeBuild Alliance, Oregon chapters of the American Society of Safety Professionals, Oregon SHARP Alliance, Construction Safety Summit and Hoffman Construction.

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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state’s workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information more information, visit osha.oregon.gov.

The Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]) is a nonprofit dedicated to preventing young worker injuries and fatalities. O[yes] members include safety and health professionals, educators, employers, labor and trade associations, and regulators. For more information, go to http://youngemployeesafety.org/.