Showing posts with label Oregon AFL-CIO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon AFL-CIO. Show all posts

Monday, August 26, 2024

Labor Day In Oregon

On Monday, September 2, Oregon’s unions will gather at Labor Day picnics across the state to celebrate the achievements of working people and the strength we have when we stand together. Labor Day is a time to celebrate workers, the future of our movement, and all union members who came before us to fight for the 8-hour workday, safety protections and so much more.

 We want you to join us! The Oregon Labor Movement will gather in Canby, Springfield, and Bend. Here are the locations and times for each event, we hope to see you there!

 

PORTLAND AREA

Northwest Oregon Labor Council

Clackamas County Fairgrounds

694 NE 4th Ave in Canby 

11:00am - 4:00pm

 

LANE COUNTY 

Lane County Central Labor Chapter

Splash Pad Picnic Shelter 

6100 Thurston Road in Springfield

12:00pm - 3:30pm

 

CENTRAL OREGON

Central Oregon Labor Chapter

Alpenglow Park

61049 SE 15th St in Bend

12:00 - 3:00pm

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

URGENT: Action Needed to Support AFSCME Members at OHSU

From the Oregon AFL-CIO:

As you are likely aware, postdoctoral researchers represented by Oregon AFSCME, whose work at OHSU includes finding cures for deadly diseases, are still without a first contract. After bargaining for nearly a year, the Postdoc Researchers United declared an impasse on July 5 and voted to authorize a strike which is set to begin next month.

It’s time to stand together, take action, and do everything possible we can as Oregon’s Labor Movement to ensure Postdoc Researchers United win the contract they deserve. That includes their primary demands of fair compensation reflective of the researchers’ expertise, and protections for international employees, who comprise over half of the postdoctoral population.

Here’s how you can help:

URGENT: Sign on to AFSCME’s letter urging OHSU to reconsider their final offer. Click here to view the letter. If you are interested in signing on, please email a copy of your union’s logo before 8:00am tomorrow, July 31, to Susan Allen (sallen@oregonafscme.org) and Odalis Aguilar (oaguilar@oregonafscme.org).

Personally call members on the board of the directors urging them to work with the President to avert the strike.

Please share any stories you have at OHSU that highlight the positive outcomes when workers and management work together to fulfill their mission. You can email your stories to Susan and Odalis at their email addresses listed above.

As we’ve seen during contract struggles and strikes in the past, Oregon Labor standing united behind a group of workers in a battle for a fair contract can create the pressure needed to win the fight.

AFSCME’s fight at OHSU is all of our fight because when any worker is injured, wronged, or treated unfairly we all suffer. Let’s do what we do best and come together to lend our strength and solidarity to the Postdoc Researchers United at AFSCME.

In Solidarity,

Graham Trainor
President, Oregon AFL-CIO

Thursday, July 11, 2024

From the Oregon AFL-CIO: Take Action Now To Oppose Cuts To Title I And Other Vital Programs!

 

Take Action Now

Tell lawmakers: Fewer cuts, more real solutions

We know that schools, hospitals and communities need funding and resources to create real solutions for a better life. But once again, extremists in Congress are proposing draconian cuts to slash funding for the people who need it most. Tell your representative to oppose cuts to Title I and other vital programs in the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill.

Friday, June 28, 2024

Upcoming events and trainings, requests for solidarity, and some short union news updates

The following comes to us from Portland DSA and the Oregon AFL-CIO:

Union membership means more wealth for working Americans
June 24, 2024 | Labor Tribune
“New studies prove what unions have been arguing for years: Union membership means more wealth for working Americans. The Center for American Progress (CAP) analyzed new data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances and found that the median union household has significantly more wealth than non-union households, and these differences hold across demographic groups including race, ethnicity and education levels."

Labor and Community Organizations Stand with Chip Workers Demanding Living Wages and Safer Working Conditions
June 25, 2024 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“CHIPS Communities United (CCU), a coalition of labor unions, environmental organizations, and community groups, and the Oregon AFL-CIO today urged Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) to invest in its workers and honor their demands for living wages, safer working conditions, and an end to unpaid shutdowns. ADI worker demands point to larger job quality concerns and the need for strong labor standards accompanying public investment in the semiconductor industry.”

AFL-CIO President Applauds New Regulations Ensuring Fair Wages for Clean Energy Jobs
June 26, 2024 | AFL-CIO
“These new wage regulations are a historic win for working people, made possible with the culmination of decades of advocacy by the labor movement and years of work by the Biden–Harris administration. Today, we fulfill one of the key promises of the Inflation Reduction Act: that we can create good-paying union jobs and advance clean energy policy at the same time.”

Oregon Minimum Wage Has Increased More Than 30% Since 2016
June 27, 2024 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“On July 1, Oregon’s three minimum wage levels will increase by 50 cents, bringing the hourly minimum wage to $15.95 an hour in the Portland Metro Area, $14.70 in standard counties, and $13.70 in non-urban counties. According to the most recent data from 2022, just over 4% of Oregon workers earn minimum wage. That means over 100,000 people will see their paychecks go up in July.”

Race and Labor (a Labor Notes workshop)
Sat. June 29, 9-11am
How does racism show up in our workplaces and our unions? What are some strategies to confront it and build solidarity for a stronger, multiracial labor movement? And what can you say to union siblings who aren’t convinced racial justice has anything to do with union politics? This workshop addresses how class and race are inextricably linked, tracing back the origins of “race” as an invention of the ruling class to divide workers. We'll talk about how to move to strategies of unity. REGISTER: https://labornotes.org/events/2024/race-and-labor-june-2024

What to Do When Your Union Breaks Your Heart (a Labor Notes workshop)
Tues. July 2, 4:30-6pm
If you’re a union member, unfortunately the chances are good that you’ve had, or will have, your heart broken at least once by one of your own leaders. Whether you tried to get involved and there was nowhere to go, or the members got sold out, or leaders want to keep the union as their exclusive club, it can feel pretty harsh. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to recommit to your union and change the culture into one where leaders respect and serve the members.
REGISTER: https://labornotes.org/events/2024/workshop-what-do-when-your-union-breaks-your-heart-july-2024

Secrets of a Successful Organizer (a Labor Notes training)
How to Organize at Work and Win !
Sundays, July 7, and July 14, 6-8pm
Portland Association of Teachers, 345 NE 8th (basement)
RSVP: https://actionnetwork.org/events/secrets-of-a-successful-organizer-2024/

Union Makes Us Strong - Jazz Performance (Portland Jobs with Justice)
Portland Jazz Ensemble Composers' Ensemble
Thurs. July 11, 6:30pm
Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th Ave, Portland
JwJ's annual Summer Solidarity fundraiser, dinner buffet, cash bar, raffle prizes
TICKETS: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/pjwj-pjce-summer-jazz-show

LERC Summer School (OR AFL-CIO/)
Labor Education and Research Center
Fri-Sun, July 19-21
University of Oregon Campus, Eugene
Whether you are a new member or experienced leader, Summer School has something for you. Join us for a weekend of education, discussion and socializing with 100+ other union members from across the state.
REGISTER: https://lerc.uoregon.edu/ss24/.

Investigating Grievances - a Labor Notes Steward's Workshop
Wed. July 24, 4:30-6pm (zoom)
*Limited to stewards and officers who work with stewards
Grievances are a lot more than what you write down on a grievance form or what gets said in a grievance hearing. Some of the most important work that goes into winning a grievance happens before you even file, and pays off big time if a grievance ends up going to arbitration.
RSVP: https://labornotes.org/events/2024/stewards-workshop-investigating-grievances-july-2024

Support Unionizing Preschool Workers Illegally Fired (ILWU 5)
Workers at two Guidepost Montessori locations in the Portland Metro area have lost their jobs due to extreme union retaliation. Two of five locations in the Portland Metro area decided to unionize, and the company responded by shutting down the unionizing locations for at least 3 months each. Workers can use support while they stay committed to their unionizing campaign, and as they grapple with the loss of their livelihoods and relationships with their students. DONATE:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-unionizing-preschool-teachers-illegally-furloughed

Starbucks Workers United Rapid Response Network (SBWU)
Baristas will be bargaining a national foundational framework, an agreement that sets the standards for SBWU contracts across the country. The 10,000+ unionized Starbucks partners have come a long way to get to this moment – and we're determined to keep the momentum strong and fight to win at the bargaining table. By joining the rapid response network, you'll be on standby to mobilize quickly when called upon - this could look like calling into a store, holding a flyering event outside a store, organizing a solidarity standout, lodging customer complaints, etc. If your support is needed, it will likely be a tight turnaround time - so the form asks some specific questions to help gauge what level of capacity you and your organization may have for rapid response organizing. SIGN UP: https://tinyurl.com/SBWUrapid

Thursday, June 13, 2024

STRIKE ALERT: The Largest Nurses Strike in Oregon History is Scheduled For Next Week!



From the Oregon AFL-CIO:

It is once again time for Oregon Labor to stand together in solidarity with striking workers. Last week, nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association at six different Providence Health Systems locations around the state gave notice that they would go on a three day strike from Tuesday, June 18 through Thursday, June 20.

Nurses are demanding Providence give them a fair contract that is in compliance with Oregon’s Safe Staffing law and prioritizes affordable, quality healthcare. Nurses are also demanding that Providence executives increase their focus on recruiting, retaining, and respecting frontline nurses. Despite four days of negotiations, an agreement was not reached.

An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us and it's critical that Oregon's workers and unions rally behind the striking ONA members until a fair contract is reached and ratified. When we join each other's fights, we have the strength in numbers to accomplish anything.

Here's how you can support the strike:

View the Strike Map here.

Sign up for a shift on the picket line.

Use ONA’s social media toolkit to help spread the word about the strike.

Sign the public petition to put pressure on Providence.

Donate to the strike fund to help support striking workers and help hold the line.

As we saw during the wave of strikes in the Pacific Northwest last year, our solidarity and our unwavering support of any striking worker will help to push management towards a fair settlement. Please stand together with ONA nurses at Providence in their fight to fix a broken health care system and to win the fair contract they deserve.

Please click here to see the latest news about this strike.

 

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Three Upcoming Oregon AFL-CIO Get Out The Vote Events

From the Oregon AFL-CIO:

Labor 2024 Events

Canvass for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate
Saturday May 18, 2024 at 10:00AM to 1:00PM | Meet at SEIU 503 Bend Office in Bend.
Join Oregon Labor at a canvass for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate. Coffee, lunch and training provided. Sign up to volunteer.


Get Out the Vote Canvass with Willy Chotzen for HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General
Saturday May 19, 2024 at 10:00AM to 1:00PM | Meet at the Oregon Labor Center in Portland
Join Oregon Labor at a canvass for Willy Chotzen for State Representative in HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General. Coffee, lunch and training provided. Willy Chotzen and Dan Rayfield will be there to kick off the event!
Sign up to volunteer.


Get Out the Vote!

Monday May 20, 2024 and Tuesday May 21, 2024 | Meet at the Oregon Labor Center in Portland
Volunteer to knock on doors and make calls for a last push to get out the vote before the May 21st 8PM voting deadline. Sign up to get a phone list or stop by the Oregon Labor Center to grab a turf on Monday anytime between 11 and 5 or Tuesday between 11 and 4. Sign up to volunteer.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Getting Out The Vote With The Oregon AFL-CIO

 

Labor 2024 Events


Canvass for Lisa Fragala for HD 8 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General
Saturday May 11, 2024 at 10:00AM to 1:00PM | Meet at Oregon AFSCME Council 75 in Eugene
Join Oregon Labor at a canvass for Lisa Fragala for State Representative in HD 8 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General. Coffee, lunch and training provided. Sign up to volunteer.

Phonebank for Willy Chotzen for HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General
Monday May 13, 2024 at 5:30PM to 7:30PM | Zoom
Join Oregon Labor at a phonebank for Willy Chotzen for State Representative in HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General. Sign up to volunteer.

Phonebank for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate
Wednesday May 15, 2024 at 5:30PM to 7:30PM | Zoom
Join Oregon Labor at a phonebank for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate. Sign up to volunteer.

Canvass for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate
Saturday May 18, 2024 at 10:00AM to 1:00PM | Meet at SEIU 503 Bend Office in Bend.
Join Oregon Labor at a canvass for Phil Chang for Deschutes County Commissioner and Anthony Broadman for State Senate. Coffee, lunch and training provided. Sign up to volunteer.

Get Out the Vote Canvass with Willy Chotzen for HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General
Saturday May 19, 2024 at 10:00AM to 1:00PM | Meet at the Oregon Labor Center in Portland
Join Oregon Labor at a canvass for Willy Chotzen for State Representative in HD 46 and Dan Rayfield for Attorney General. Coffee, lunch and training provided. Willy Chotzen and Dan Rayfield will be there to kick off the event!

Sign up to volunteer.


Phonebank to Get Out the Vote!

Monday May 19, 2024 at 5:30PM to 7:30PM | Zoom

Monday May 20, 2024 at 5:30PM to 7:30PM | Zoom

Join Oregon Labor at our last phonebanks to Get Out the Vote before the May 21st primary deadline! Sign up to volunteer.
 

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Labor Leaders, Elected Officials, Faith Leaders to Honor Oregon Workers Who Lost Their Lives on the Job in 2023

MEDIA ADVISORY

APRIL 23, 2024


Labor Leaders, Elected Officials, Faith Leaders to Honor Oregon Workers Who Lost Their Lives on the Job in 2023


On Friday, April 26, local workers, elected leaders, union officials and workplace safety advocates will gather at ceremonies in Portland and Salem to mark Workers Memorial Day, remembering workers who have died or suffered illness or injuries while on the job. Families of fallen workers are expected to attend and speakers for the event (listed below) include labor leaders, elected officials, faith leaders, and workplace safety advocates.

Event Details (Portland)
What: Workers Memorial Day Ceremony
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 9:30am
Location: Behind Portland Fire and Rescue Station 21 on the Eastbank Esplanade,
5 SE Madison St, Portland, OR 97214

Speakers include:
Christina Stephenson, Oregon Labor Commissioner
State Representative Dacia Grayber
Graham Trainor, Oregon AFL-CIO President
Karl Koening, Oregon State Firefighters Council President
Laurie Wimmer, Northwest Oregon Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Issac McLennon, IAFF Local 43 President
Reverend Mark Knutson, Augustina Luthern Church

Event Details (Salem)
What: Workers Memorial Day Ceremony
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Fallen Worker Memorial, Oregon State Capitol Mall
350 Winter St NE, Salem, OR 97301

Speakers include:
State Senator Deb Patterson
House Majority Leader Ben Bowman
Vince Porter, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of Governor Tina Kotek
Renée Stapleton, Administrator, Oregon OSHA
Graham Trainor, Oregon AFL-CIO President
Liz Marquez Gutierrez, Political Organizer, PCUN
Reverend Rick Davis, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem

Media representatives are encouraged to attend and cover this significant event. Interviews with union representatives and participating workers will be available upon request. For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Russell Sanders, Oregon AFL-CIO Communications Director
(503) 23201195 ext. 314 / russell@oraflcio.org

###

The Oregon AFL-CIO is the statewide federation of labor unions, representing over 300,000 working Oregonians and 288 affiliated local unions. Oregon AFL-CIO affiliates represent workers in every sector of the economy in communities across the state. Learn more at www.oraflcio.org

Friday, April 19, 2024

Earth Day 2024 and Workers Memorial Day---Labor Radio & Gatherings in Oregon

The Oregon labor movement is blessed to have Sister Tina Turner-Morfitt in our front ranks. Sister Turner-Morfitt is President of the Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, an activist with AFSCME retirees, a leader in the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter. and a primary person in labor radio in our state. Sister Turner-Morfitt sent in the following press release.

Earth Day 2024: A cooperative effort to save the planet. A review of a growing mutual respect between organized labor and the environmental community.

In acknowledgement of Earth Day a special tribute will broadcast on KBOO Radio on April 22, 202 at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm. The theme will reflect how organized labor has transitioned to reflect a common
ground concept to ensuring strong labor standards while also exploring renewable energy projects and exploring responsible approaches to climate change. The episode will feature 2 guest, Jim Gourley, my labor historian, and Rory Cowal, a volunteer with Divest Oregon.

Brother Gourley is a United Steelworker millwright associated with Local 1189 Cascade Pacific Pulp in Halsey Oregon. I’ve invited Brother Gourley to give a brief historical synopsis focusing on the transformation of the relationship between organized labor and the environmental community. Brother
Gourley also reflects that other legislation was passed during the 2024 legislative session that couple the efforts of organized labor and the environmental community. Please consult the Oregon AFL-CIO webpage for more information at https://www.oraflcio.org/

Rory Cowal, a Divest Oregon volunteer, and a member of Portland State University Faculty Association union. During the regular session of the Oregon State Legislature, Brother Cowal supported and testified on House Bill 4083, The COAL ACT. I’ve invited him to briefly discuss this legislation. Brother Cowal gives a brief introduction about Divest Oregon and issues an invitation for interested parties to join their efforts. For more information please visit their website: https://www.divestoregon.org/.

Check out the KBOO website to listen to the broadcast: https://kboo.fm/media/117754-labor-radio

The show closes with an honorable mention of April 26, 2024 Workers Memorial Day tribute sponsored by the Oregon AFL- CIO. There are two ceremonies:

9:30 am: Eastbank Esplanade besides Portland Fire and
Rescue Station 21

12:00 noon: Fallen Worker Memorial on the Oregon State
Capital Mall

The ceremonies will include the reading of the names of 56 workers who lost their lives across the state while performing their jobs. Join families, friends, workplace safety advocates, elected officials and faith leaders in paying respect to these workers.

RSVP here.


Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Oregon AFL-CIO has endorsed the following candidates for the 2024 Primary Election:

To date, the Oregon AFL-CIO has endorsed the following candidates for the 2024 Primary Election: 


FEDERAL
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici for CD-1
Congresswoman Val Hoyle for CD-4
Congresswoman Andrea Salinas for CD-6

STATEWIDE
House Speaker Dan Rayfield for Attorney General

STATE SENATE
State Senator Kate Lieber for SD 14
State Senator Wlnsvey Campos for SD 18
State Senator Kathleen Taylor for SD 21
State Senator Khanh Pham for SD 23
State Senator Chris Gorsek for SD 25
Anthony Broadman for SD 27

STATE HOUSE
State Rep. Pam Marsh for HD 5
Lisa Fragala for HD 8
State Rep. David Gomberg for HD 10
State Rep. Nancy Nathanson for HD 13
Lesley Munoz for HD 22
State Rep. Ben Bowman for HD 25
State Rep. Courtney Neron for HD 26
State Rep. Ken Helm for HD 27
State Rep. Dacia Grayber for HD 28
State Rep. Susan McLain for HD 29
State Rep. Nathan Sosa for HD 30
State Rep. Lisa Reynolds for HD 34
State Rep. Farrah Chaichi for HD 35
April Dobson for HD 39
State Rep. Tawna Sanchez for HD 43
State Rep. Travis Nelson for HD 44
State Rep. Thuy Tran for HD 45
Willy Chotzen for HD 46
State Rep. Zach Hudson for HD 49
State Rep. Ricki Ruiz for HD 50
State Rep. Emerson Levy for HD 53
State Rep. Jason Kropf for HD 54
State Rep. Greg Smith for HD 57

Thursday, March 7, 2024

A Labor discussion with Anne Broyles, Author of I’m Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People

From the Oregon AFL-CIO:

A Discussion with Anne Broyles, Author of I’m Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People

March 28 starting at 5:00pm | Oregon Labor Center in Portland

Please join the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Oregon Labor Movement for an engaging discussion with Anne Broyles, the author of I’m Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People. Anne’s book is about the visionary folk artist and labor organizer Ralph Fasanella and is perfect for picture book readers because of its stunning illustrations. Click here to learn more & RSVP.




Thursday, February 29, 2024

"Oregon labor is still strike ready," says Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor. I hope so, but...

Our Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor had a prescient opinion piece published in The  Northwest Labor Press under the date of February 19, 2024. The piece is forward-looking in the immediate sense that it anticipated the strike at PeaceHealth, classified staff at the Salem-Keizer School District winning a tentative argreement without striking, the tentaive agreement reached covering state higher ed classified workers, and some other union-won victories. It is also forward looking in the sense that it forecasts widespread interest by working-class people in what unions are doing in our state and in the sense that the article is a kind of preliminary report-back from the first-ever Oregon Strike School. The school was one of a few experimental efforts held around the United States intended to help build capacity for organizing and winning strikes, and as such it demonstrates that we're reaching a new stage in Organized Labor. I am going to repost Brother Trainor's piece in its entirety below and provide a few additional comments of my own below that.

Oregon labor is still strike ready

By GRAHAM TRAINOR, Oregon AFL-CIO president


On January 27, over 100 trade unionists gathered for the first-ever Oregon Strike School, a day-long training focused on building stronger and more effective contract campaigns and powerful strike threats throughout Oregon labor. With attendees from over 30 different unions from across Oregon’s economy, it was clear that our movement isn’t satisfied with the history-making action of 2023. In fact, based on the energy and the focus at Strike School, and what we continue to see in the first few months of 2024, last year’s labor action was just the beginning.

In my article last month, I highlighted how strikes and collective action reached incredible heights in 2023. We saw double the number of workers who went on strike in 2022, the highest seen in over a decade. And countless other groups of workers built powerful, strategic, and credible strike threats as well, winning big before needing to strike.

Just over the last 12-18 months, we’ve seen nurses and health care workers win big using a multi-faceted strategy including legislative victories, strike threats, and powerful and well-timed strikes, all with a backdrop of constant new organizing. We’ve seen public service workers and woodworkers win big by using their most powerful weapon. We’ve seen autoworkers wage an inspirational campaign that not only won a game-changing contract, but has been the spark for new organizing throughout the automobile industry and supply chain. We’ve seen building trades unions build some of the most credible strike threats that I’ve seen in my career, and winning big because of it. We’ve seen actors and writers around the country take on powerful corporations and CEOs, spotlighting the real fears and concerns about artificial intelligence disrupting their industry and undermining their jobs. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of package delivery and warehouse workers leverage their collective power in Oregon and across the country to win a historic agreement at UPS. At the end of 2023, we saw the first teachers’ strike in Portland’s history drawing national attention to the need for more robust funding for public education and achieving the schools our children deserve. Last month, we saw graduate employees at the University of Oregon use the threat of a well-organized strike to win a historic contract. And right now we’re seeing more healthcare professionals say “enough is enough” in Lane County, walking the line for a fair contract and higher education workers across the state holding practice pickets as their contract campaign heats up.

This brief summary showcases something really important. Strikes — and well-organized, credible strike threats — work. They win life-changing contracts.

Amidst this excitement and momentum, we must never lose sight of just how unfair and imbalanced the economy is as the working class continues to be squeezed by inflation, the lack of affordable housing, the student debt crisis, all while facing hostility and backlash from the multi-billion dollar union-busting industry every time we try to organize unions. Understandably, working people are looking to see who’s fighting for them, who’s on their side.

And when they see the labor movement consistently in the streets, in state legislatures, and at bargaining tables holding the line for our shared values, it comes as no surprise that we’re seeing historic union favorability statistics and nine out of 10 young people supporting our movement.

This is our time to push back with every ounce of our being on the rigged economic system and win what’s ours from the wealth our labor creates. This is the moment to strategize, to dig deep, and to build the strongest contract campaigns our movement has ever seen. And as we do that, it won’t just be our movement that is better for it. The working class and our democracy will be better for it as well. See you on the picket line!

And here is my take on Brother Trainor's article:

As I said above, this is a forward-looking article on several counts. I hope that there will be more Strike Schools coming and that they will help unite union members across union and geographic lines, and across racial, gender, and social and political lines as well. It is good to hear labor leaders speak plainly about a "working-class" and not limit themselves and our movement to talk about a middle-class and the even more vague "working families." There is a strong opening here to continue building labor-community coalitions not only on the basis of temporary shared interests, but on long-term shared interests as well. I hope that the logic expressed here will help build towards a win for the working-class in November and for either a revitalized all-people's and grassroots-driven Democratic Party or a new political formation that better expresses progressive and working-class-led needs. Please see this and this for updates on Oregon AFL-CIO endorsements in key legislative races. 

Now, I have been on strike many times, though only one of those strikes was completely union-authorized, and I have participated in scores of other strikes over the past fifty-two years. There was often a thin or porous line separating union-led and community-supported or community-initiated strikes in the coalfields when I was a younger person, and if you had relatives or friends or neighbors on strike then you hit the picket lines with them. This often resulted in arrests and in getting fired, but it was always worth the trouble. There were people in my generation---I was one of them---who came to idealize striking.And there were union members---my father was one of them---who reactively took pride in never having voted for a union contract. We looked tough and we talked tough, but I have come to realize over the years that many of the most "strike-happy" folks do not make good union builders and organizers.


Harlan County, Kentucky mine workers organizing.

The context that prevails today is very different than what we saw in the 1970s, when part of the labor movement was still on the offensive from the late 1960s, and it is also quite different than what was taking place from the early 1980s to around the turn of the cenrury, when we took some heavy defeats, went on the defense, and often shot ourselves in our feet and blew off most of our toes. It took the Battle of Seattle (1999), Occupy (2011), Black Lives Matter (2013), the George Floyd protests (2020), and other social movements to begin to push unions in the right direction. This coincided with a strengthened and new push to organize from within labor, a combination of restive union members pushing and some union leaders being willing and able to listen and act. And after twenty-five or thirty years we still don't have the critical numbers of activists and union members needed to successfully turn the tide in our favor. The AFL-CIO set a goal at one point of organizing and gaining one million new union members, but our magic number needs to be closer to ten or eleven million.

With all of the above in mind, then, I think a great deal about how the pieces might fight together to win over ten or eleven million people to becoming union members and how to inculcate disciplne, solidarity, and building leadership in a society that stresses individualism and seems to be tearing at the seams, a country that seems closer to civil war right now than it does to class conflict and far from reinventing itself as a capable democracy. Truth be told, we're not going to bring in critical numbers of people and still maintain our leadershiop and the way we do things. Union members and leadership need to choose within the conundrum which side we're on. 

I'm encouraged to read Brother Trainor writing that "Amidst this excitement and momentum, we must never lose sight of just how unfair and imbalanced the economy is..." and

And when they see the labor movement consistently in the streets, in state legislatures, and at bargaining tables holding the line for our shared values, it comes as no surprise that we’re seeing historic union favorability statistics and nine out of 10 young people supporting our movement.

Brother Trainor ends on exactly the right note when he says "This is our time to push back with every ounce of our being on the rigged economic system and win what’s ours from the wealth our labor creates."

It's in finding the balance between a "labor movement consistently in the streets" and in the "state legislatures, and at bargaining tables" where some of our biggest difficulties and contradictions set in. In practical terms, I think, this means a very different way of formulating our demands. Can we figure out how to put forward demands that represent our communities as well as union members? Can we get to Project Labor Agreements without giving up the right to strike? Can we build union density in the service and logistics industries and still win more than the minimum and dues check-off? Can we find new ways of working with seniority that keeps recently-hired women and people of color working in majority-male and majority-white workplaces when there are layoffs?

Continuing on, I believe that the way we do politics now is backwards. We chase candidates who are in the system, we compare scorecards, and we work through PACs to support them. I want to suggest that we instead test people within our movements and allow ourselves to be tested as well---and strikes can be a primary means of doing this---and see who emerges as leaders over time and make them our candidates. The money for campaigns will then likely flow from the movements, but the funds needed may be less because at that point we're building people power at the base. Here is Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates speaking to the points I'm making here:




My last point in responding to Brother Trainor's post may sound pessimistic, but I want to put it forward as a real concern. Strikes need to be militant, lively, fully inclusive, realistic, and disciplined in order to win. We should all be in the habit of striking or protesting regularly, if only to hone our skills. Shawn Fain, the President of the United Auto Workers union, is arguing for what might effectively be a general or mass strike on May Day of 2028. That will take heavy and structured mass organizing to accomplish, and I don't know if the AFL-CIO unions have that in them or not. But beyond that, we need to think through what our fall-back will be when striking doesn't work and when we hit the outer limits of militancy. Strikes will not change the balance of power or bring in the millions of people we need by themselves. I can imagine large numbers of union members missing out on understanding the differences between tactics and strategies and getting more caught up in the means (striking) than in the ends (our goals) and our hoped-for forward movement becomiong a backward step. What then? How do we save those moments from becoming defeats and work them into continuing the work that must be done?  


The views expressed here by the author are not those of the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter or the Oregon AFL-CIO.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Black History Movie Night In Portland On Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7:00 PM

 



Join SEIU Local 503 AFRAM Caucus, the Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and Portland Rising for a Black history movie night at the SEIU Local 503 office on 2/29 at 7pm. Representative Travis Nelson and Oregon AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Sarina Rohrer will be leading the event.

Two views on Oregon's 2024 legislative session so far

Our first take on Oregon's 2024 legislative session comes from the Northwest Workers Justice Project (NWJP). NWJP modestly describes their work in the following terms:

NWJP protects workplace dignity by supporting the efforts of low-wage, immigrant and contingent workers to improve wages and working conditions and to eliminate imbalances in power that lead to inequity.

In fact, NWJP does much more and meets their goals and does movement-building. They show up when and where it makes a difference and they ae a more-than-competent progressive voice for worker rights. I am not partial to non-profits, but NWJP is a winning exception. Please support them with a contribution today. Their legislative update says:

We are in an even-numbered year, so that means a short session at the Oregon Legislature. The 35-day session kicked off on February 5th. As most of you probably know, the focus is on housing and Measure 110 (related to drug decriminalization.) Very few bills related to workers were introduced, and even fewer are moving forward on the tight timeline of the short session.

We submitted testimony regarding a bad bill that would have undermined Oregon’s strong Pay Equity Law by creating a vague “business necessity”
exception. We supported the Oregon AFL-CIO’s successful effort to stop this bad bill from becoming law.



NWJP is focused on supporting efforts to fund a number of programs that our client community needs: the Climate Change Fund, the Home Fund and Universal Representation. These funds are part of the larger Oregon Worker Relief Fund, which advocates created during the pandemic to help undocumented Oregonians survive when workplaces were shuttered.

The Climate Change Fund grew out of the rulemaking on extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Advocates realized that Oregonians who do not qualify for unemployment insurance, including undocumented workers, need a way to be paid when they have to miss work due to climate emergencies. We are asking for $9 million to replenish this fund.

The Home Fund provides financial relief to immigrant Oregonians at risk of eviction and homelessness. NWJP hears from workers every week who are at risk of eviction or who have recently been evicted. We are asking for $6 million for this fund, which is a drop in the bucket of what is needed during our current housing crisis.

Finally, Universal Representation (U-Rep) is the idea that all immigrant Oregonians need legal support during immigration proceedings. Studies make clear that immigrants without legal counsel are more likely to be deported. Oregon passed U-Rep in 2022, but the current funding does not meet the great need for this support. The request is $7.5 million.



Please send an email as soon as possible to your elected representatives in support of these important budget requests through PCUN’s action alert here.


Our second legislative update comes from Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor. The strength of this report is that it demonstrates how so much of our labor political work is about the nuts-and-bolts of policies that affect our daily lives as workers, things that we often forget until we or someone close to us says, "Hey, I need that!" This is why I keep paying dues to three unions and donating to our poitical action funds. Please join me in doing that. In a press release dated February 23 Brother Trainor offered the following:


The 2024 Oregon Legislature is moving at a rapid pace, with many of Oregon Labor’s priority bills moving out of committee, into the budget committee, and onto the floor for votes. We’re excited to see bills defending healthcare workers, education workers, and public employees among many others get closer to becoming law, as well as our priority bill to ensure labor standards are a part of all offshore wind development.

With only a few weeks left in this 35-day session, unions and worker advocates are working diligently to ensure as many of our priorities pass as possible before the gavel falls. Here’s an overview of where Oregon Labor legislative priorities are at this point in the short session:

HB 4080: Offshore Wind - Strong Labor Standards and Roadmap Directive
Led by the Oregon AFL-CIO and a priority of a number of our affiliates, HB 4080 ensures that if and when Offshore Wind Development comes to Oregon, there are strong labor standards required. Oregon has a few opportunities to influence the process to develop Offshore Wind development in federal waters. In addition to strong labor standards like apprenticeship utilization, prevailing wage and living wages and family supporting healthcare, the bill also includes a robust roadmap process to support engagement between offshore wind developers and impacted organizations, communities and tribes. The bill passed on a party-line vote out of the House Business and Labor Committee.

SB 1552: Supporting All Education Workers
A priority of OSEA, this education omnibus makes important technical fixes to support workers in K-12, higher ed, early learning and redefines educators to finally include classified instead of just teachers. This bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Education committee.

SB 1594: Behavioral Health Worker Safety
SB 1594 is a priority of Oregon AFSCME to require behavioral health safety plans and include minimum staffing levels and protocols for addressing safety risks at these facilities. These adjustments will help keep clinicians safe and reduce burnout. Furthermore, funding for apprenticeships and training programs will provide more students with the knowledge they need to be successful as clinicians. This bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Health Care committee.

SB 1595: Debt Collection Reform
Led by a coalition of unions and consumer advocates, SB 1595 offers protections for families and ensures that they can meet their basic needs while facing debt by increasing the amount of take-home pay protected from court seizure or garnishment, protecting the first $2,500 in an individual’s bank account, and increasing the value of a home protected from seizure. These adjustments will offer some stability for working people in times of extreme stress, and better allow them to take care of themselves and their families. The bill passed on a party-line vote in the Senate Labor and Business committee and unanimously in the Senate Finance and Revenue committee.

SB 1578: Healthcare Interpreter Portal
A priority of Oregon AFSCME, SB 1578 creates a portal for health care interpreters to help streamline the process and give these workers much better wages and benefits, while also improving patient outcomes. This bill passed on a party line vote out of the Senate Health Care committee.

HB 4006: Equity for Construction Workers & Contractors
A priority of the Ironworkers, HB 4006 requires a contracting agency to accept from contractors surety bonds in lieu of retainage for construction projects and public improvement contracts. This will help ensure that historically and currently marginalized contractors and workers have a fair shot at getting ahead. After a unanimous vote in the House Business and Labor Committee, the bill passed unanimously on the House floor.

HB 4045: PERS “High Risk” Tier
HB 4045 is a priority of the Firefighter and Oregon AFSCME to help over 3,200 public safety workers qualify for improved retirement benefits. The bill includes state hospital workers and 911 operators into PERS and lowers the retirement age for firefighters. The bill passed unanimously out of the House Emergency Management General Government committee and in the Ways and Means subcommittee.

HB 4050: Pay Equity Subversion (opposition)
Brought by Oregon Business and Industries, HB 4050 would have subverted Oregon's pay equity law which ensures that women, people of color, and other workers from protected classes are not paid unfairly. We successfully made sure that this bill in its current form does not move forward this session.

HB 4077: Incident Reporting Access in Schools
A priority of OSEA, HB 4077 takes a massive step toward ensuring education workers feel safe at work and is the next common-sense bill for OSEA’s Work Shouldn’t Hurt campaign. The bill increases access to incident forms after a worker is injured on the job by making an online form that can be completed on a smart phone and computer. This bill passed unanimously out of the House Education committee.

HB 4085: Immigration Legal Assistance
HB 4085 provides grants to help individuals and families afford immigration legal assistance. In Oregon, we know our communities are most successful when we all feel safe, respected and welcomed. Proactive affirmative immigration legal services will create pathways to citizenship and provide safety, security and stability for our immigrant and refugee communities. This bill passed unanimously out of the House Early Childhood and Human Services Committee.

HB 4088: Addressing Violence Against Healthcare Workers
HB 4088 creates a pilot program to address and prevent hospital workplace violence and make assaults on hospital workers a Class C felony. This is a priority of ONA, AFSCME and other unions representing healthcare workers. This bill passed nearly unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 4112: Clean Energy Tech Supply Chain
HB 4112 has the potential to make Oregon a regional leader in clean tech manufacturing while promoting good high skilled manufacturing jobs through state procurement preference. This is a priority of the Blue Green Alliance and a number of Building Trades affiliates. This bill passed out of the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee on a bipartisan vote.

HB 4124 & SB 1582: Post-Pandemic Funding for the Arts
HB 4124 and SB 1582 allocate funding to help cultural and arts programs who are struggling to bounce back after the pandemic. As union workers at many of these facilities, this is a priority of IATSE and AFM among others. These bills passed nearly unanimously out of the House Economic Development committee and Senate Business and Labor committee.

HB 4125: Adjunct Faculty Trend Study Bill
AFT-Oregon's priority bill, HB 4125 funds a report on higher education workforce to understand trends and information on the quality of the jobs and governance systems nationwide. This bill passed nearly unanimously out of the House Higher Education Committee.

HB 4130: Protecting Against Corporate Control of Healthcare
HB 4130 protects against corporatization by closing the LLC/LLP loophole in our current laws. HB4130 also bans non-competes, non-disparagement clauses, and stock transfer restriction agreements to bolster physician independence. These changes will strengthen Oregon’s existing protections against corporate control of healthcare. By doing so, our state will be preventing increased healthcare corporatization and keep healthcare costs low for Oregonians. After a bipartisan vote in the House Health Care committee, it also received a bipartisan vote on the House floor.

HB 4158: Expanding Child Care Capacity for Home-Based Providers, Small Centers, and Rural Areas
A Fair Shot for All priority, the bill helps fund childcare infrastructure to provide financial assistance grants to child care providers. The bill passed nearly unanimously out of the House Early Childhood committee.

Thank you for everything you do to build power for working people! If you have any questions about legislative priorities or how the Oregon AFL-CIO can support your union’s priorities in Salem, please contact Catie Theisen, our Political and Legislative Director.

In Solidarity,

Graham Trainor
President, Oregon AFL-CIO
He/Him/His