Portland Jobs with Justice Jubilee with AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson on September 26

We’re so excited to announce this year’s annual dinner! Join us on Thursday, September 26 at 6:30PM at the Portland Art Museum to celebrate a year of victories.

In addition to a delicious meal, cash bar, and raffle, we’re thrilled to announce our keynote speaker is none other than AFA-CWA International President, Sara Nelson. Sara has served as the International President of the AFA-CWA, AFL-CIO since 2014, representing 55,000 of aviation’s first responders at 20 airlines. She has been a union Flight Attendant since 1996 when she started flying at United Airlines.

The New York Times called her "America's most powerful flight attendant,” InStyle Magazine placed her on their Top 50 Badass Women list, the New Yorker did a major profile in 2022, and Fast Company put her on the cover of their Summer 2021 magazine with the headline, “Workers Strike Back.” Sara often says corporations have money and control but workers have the power, and the Labor Movement is for all working people. She encourages women everywhere to join unions and run unions. Come to our annual dinner to deepen community with comrades and be inspired by Sara’s words as we prepare to keep fighting for the working class in 2025!

General admission tickets are $100. Student tickets are $50. Ask your organization or union about sponsoring JwJ and buying a table for 10 or consider becoming an individual sponsor for $125.

Masks required when not eating or drinking. Thank you for keeping our communities safe!Get more information and purchase your tickets now at: https://bit.ly/2024PJWJAnnualDinner

Request for Solidarity: Oregon Health & Science University Postdocs Authorize a Strike!

 

From Portland Jobs with Justice:

Passing by a vote of 88%, roughly 250 postdoctoral researchers represented by Oregon AFSCME at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) voted 7/24 to authorize a strike if OHSU executives continue to offer scrimpy wages and benefits.The vote comes after nine months of OHSU refusing to offer a contract with fair wages, benefits and improved working conditions. With this vote, if necessary, postdoctoral researchers can deliver a 10-day notice to OHSU, indicating the start date of the strike.

“We are standing together for better pay, better benefits, and better working conditions. Our work helped OHSU get a record $600 million in research grants last year, but they refuse to offer us a penny above a nationally set minimum wage that doesn’t recognize the cost of living in Portland, said Paige Arneson-Wissink a Postdoctoral researcher in the study of pancreatic cancer. “What happens next is up to OHSU. If the executives don’t come to the table with a better offer that shows respect and recognition of the work we do every day, we will strike” continued Arneson-Wissink. Read more here.

Contribute to the Hardship Fund: https://gofund.me/6b11c3f6
Leaflet patients and nearby businesses (through 8/12): https://tinyurl.com/OHSUPostDocs
More info: https://www.ohsupostdocs.org/

What's behind the historic rise in organized labor activity in the United States? Hear Jill Pham talk about it.

In the wake of a historic rise in organized labor activity in the United States, podcast host Abbey sets out to explore what's behind it, what workers can do, and how we build solidarity with one another.

Listen in to hear JWJ Executive Director, Jill Pham, share insights into these questions, including recommendations on what workers can do to reclaim their power, build coalitions, and protect themselves in the workplace!

Taken from Portland Jobs with Justice.

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

Portland Solidarity Actions with Global Garment Workers

From Portland Jobs with Justice:

In 2020, millions of Asian garment workers, mostly women, experienced massive wage losses during the COVID pandemic. At the same time workers were pawning their belongings and eating only one meal a day, the Knight family paid themselves $74 million in dividends. Instead of paying their fair share of taxes, wealthy Oregon billionaires like Phil Knight and Tim Boyle have continued to acquire wealth at the expense of communities in Oregon and beyond.

Next week, join a coalition of over 20 garment unions across six garment-producing countries in South and Southeast Asia that are organizing with worker allies in Portland to fight for justice and decent wages!

June 4th Action:
On Tuesday, June 4th, join GTFF, Portland Jobs with Justice, Portland DSA and other worker allies in Portland who will crash the American Apparel and Footwear Conference's Networking reception at Ground Kontrol and bring workers' voices directly to brand leaders.
Meeting Place: NW Davis St. & NW 8th St.Time: 5:15PM

June 5th Action:
On Wednesday, June 5th, we'll be staging banners outside of the conference to demand that attendees respect the workers that make their success possible – in Oregon and across the garment supply chain.
Meeting Place: Home Depot parking lot (13700 NW Science Park Dr, Portland, OR 97229)
Time: 7:30am

Another grerat source for learning about union organizing, worker rights, labor history & why unions matter

There have been a lot of important gains for labor over the last few months, although corporate resistance remains strong. And there is a lot to learn from both our victories and temporary setbacks. So, when you have some time, check out the Portland Rising Why Unions Matter Library to get the latest.

New articles have been added on Worker Organizing, Labor and the Climate Crisis, Anti-worker Threats and Actions, and Labor Law and Worker Rights. The library is always open—rain or shine!  

Portland's Fried Egg Workers Union

From Portland Jobs with Justice:

Join us in welcoming the young, upstart new union, the Fried Egg Workers Union, F.E.W.U! Around May Day of this year, the community of workers at Portland breakfast staple, Fried Egg I'm in Love, submitted union authorization cards to the NLRB to seek a formal election! (Update: the union election will be held on May 28th & 29th!)

As described in Eater PDX, "Fried Egg Workers Union, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, noted that their main goals in unionizing were to protect the rights workers have already established within the company, and to give employees more of a voice in the 'internal decision-making process.'" This union effort is notable in that the workers decided to proactively organize, rather than reactively -- for instance, in response to a workplace issue. "Living in Portland, with Doughnut Workers [United], the Burgerville union, with these successful models of food worker unions, we thought we could do it, too.” Love to hear it!

Tune in to hear more about their union journey on It Could Happen Here Pod. Support their GoFundMe to help them get on their way. Follow @friedeggwu on insta/x/tiktok! 

DO YOU MAKE ART ABOUT WORKING CLASS STRUGGLE?

Portland Jobs with Justice First Annual Art Gallery & Auction

Ashes of the Old: A Labor Movement Reinvigorated

One Grand Gallery

Art Display September 21 to September 28, 2024

Opening night reception ft. music by YOITSVO

In the last few years, there has been an upsurge in labor activism, led by workers who want more out of life than what the corporate controlled society has to offer. This September, we will celebrate this new militant working class movement with a gallery exhibition.

DO YOU MAKE ART ABOUT WORKING CLASS STRUGGLE?
We want art that explores themes of rebirth, militancy, and solidarity as they relate to the labor movement.

All entries will be donated to be auctioned off and all proceeds from the auction will go to support the work of Portland Jobs with Justice. Entries are considered tax-deductible as in-kind donations to Portland Jobs with Justice Education Fund, a registered 501(c)3.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We are open to artwork in all visual media (2D, 3D, photography, mixed media, digital media, & more).

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Submissions are free of charge. Please only apply with images of works that will be donated.

Please include the following in your PDF:
Your name and email
Images of up to 4 works that are available for this exhibition, with a maximum of 10 images total to allow for detail images of the work
Include in each image: title, size, materials, and any special hanging considerations/instructions
Prices or estimated value of pieces
Artist Statement 200 words max

Submissions Due: July 29, 2024. Artists will be notified of their acceptance by August, 19 2024. Email submissions to tyler@jwjpdx.org

 

Portland Workers' Assembly To Discuss Organizing At "Progressive" Employers

 

Climate Justice & Labor

 This looks like an exciting program to be held in Portland:

 

Solidarity with Auto Workers and striking Teamsters and a great conference in Portland!

Since 2018, Daimler Truck has seen a 90% increase in profits while its workers have fallen further and further behind. Work by UAW members at Daimler factories, including Freightliner, Western Star Brand, and Thomas Built Bus is driving record company profits, but working at Daimler isn't what it used to be.

UAW members across the country are ready to stand up for a record contract at Daimler!

Join the Global Day of Solidarity to stand with UAW members doing what it takes to win Tuesday, April 23rd TBD! uaw.org/Daimler

The Coors family, executives, and stockholders are living the high life while refusing to negotiate a fair contract with workers who make the beer. Teamsters Local 997 in Fort Worth, the workers behind the Molson-Coors brand beverages and record profits, were forced onto the picket line Feb. 17 after the company refused to offer more than 99 cents an hour in new wages.

Support the Teamsters who are holding the line for a strong contract. Boycott Molson Coors until workers get the job protections and wage increases they deserve! Take part in a bit of history, renewed by Texas Teamsters, and join us in supporting the long-running Boycott!

Teamsters Local 223 members in Eugene kicked off a Day of Action by flyering customers and supermarkets about the Boycott. Here in Portland, members circulated flyers and promoted the Boycott at recent actions! Support the Boycott and circulate the flier, here!

Registration for the Labor Research Action Network Conference is now open!

The conference will run from Thursday June 20th 8am to Friday June 21st 5pm PDT.

The 2024 LRAN conference is co-hosted by the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) and will be held at Portland State University. The theme of this year’s conference is “How labor can confront a rapidly changing landscape," and plenary sessions will focus on exciting efforts at strengthening and co-enforcing worker protection laws in Oregon and the rise of independent union organizing. Workshops and trainings will be held on a range of issues, including AI, climate jobs, and worker co-ops. The agenda will be available in April.

The early bird rate for admission is $130. The rate will go up to $150 on May 1st. Register here.

If you need a hotel room, there is a room block at the University Place Hotel & Conference Center Portland (union hotel). The rate is $114/night and includes breakfast. To book a room, call the hotel directly at 503-221-0140 and mention the LRAN conference.

The information above was taken from Portland Jobs with Justice. Please support them.

The Portland Workers' Assembly (and could we please have one in Marion County?)

For the past couple of months, Tyler and the Portland Rising subcommittee have been working hard on a series of political education talks geared towards workers in the Portland area, and it's ready for public aFnnouncement! I hope that all of you will mark your calendars and help us spread the word.

Each talk focuses on a specific topic with the goal of continuing the labor militancy that we‘ve seen recently. Talks will feature a panel of speakers with experience related to the topic at hand and will be facilitated by Tyler. While panelists’ experiences will be a starting point for discussion, we aim to create a distinctly collaborative space where all participants are able to ask questions and share their experiences. These talks are geared towards all workers, union or not, and union staff and labor activists are also encouraged to attend!

Talks will be on the second Thursday from 7PM-8:30PM in the Augustana Church Fellowship Hall (2710 NE 14th Ave) and masks are required. The first talk is scheduled for 4/11 and will revolve around building campaigns that bring in the community, with E.D. Jill Pham joining the panel to talk about JWJ's own role in uplifting the labor struggle within the community.

 

Two Important Labor Solidarity Calls from Portland Jobs With Justice (AND A VICTORY!)

The first post below regarding the academic student employees at Washington State University reached us this morning. I posted it just a few minutes ago and while I was working on another post word reached us that "THE STRIKE IS OFF ! WSU-CASE has a Tentative Agreement with WSU Administration!"

This is indeed good news and it shows what labor solidarity and a credible strike threat can accomplish. It's almost counter-intuitive. You may well avoid a strike if you help build solidarity among your coworkers, have a credible strike threat at hand that even management can see, win support from other union members and then from the public, and have good issues that everyone can identify with. It's much more about what happens between us and our coworkers every day and much less about what happens behind closed doors.

I'm going to leave the post up to draw attention to the union's victory.

More than a thousand academic student employees at Washington State University walked off the job today, after 11 months of university administration's unwillingness to offer a contract which supports fair wages, improved health care, paid parental leave, and more. Join WSU CASE-UAW (Coalition of Academic Student Employees-UAW) and UAW Local 492 down at the Vancouver branch of WSU to support workers on strike! Follow along on Facebook here, on Twitter here. And sign up for picket shifts here!

WSU entrance, 14100 NE Salmon Creek Ave., Vancouver WA

Beginning today, for as long as it takes! 7am - 5pm

Doughnut Workers United Blue Star will vote in their union election today! Following the election, you can join DWU Bluestar tonight, at 7pm, at Workers Tap in Portland.

10% of all sales will support the GoFundMe set up to aid the active union supporters who were furloughed during the unionization effort.

Join the fundraiser tonight and/or contribute directly here!

Two important union solidarity requests from Portland Jobs with Justice

Update! Higher Ed classified staff to begin mediation with the universities.

The 4,500 SEIU 503 repped classified workers at the Seven Oregon Public Universities are in a very tough bargain. After three months of negotiations the economics of settlement are far apart. They hope you can share news of this struggle with your own members and allied folks, and ask them to take a moment to add their names to this support petition.

Classified workers are the non-teaching campus staff who make the Universities run on time – in academic support; IT; housing; health centers; food services; admissions; facilities; grounds and more. Without the work of classified staff, Oregon’s public universities literally could not operate and students would not be educated. Despite the importance of their work, far too many classified staff struggle with paychecks that don’t allow them to support themselves and their families. Add your name to support the 4,500 classified workers at Oregon’s public universities!

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Support Progressive Workers Union to Win a Fair Contract for Sierra Club Workers!

Sign onto a public letter encouraging Sierra Club management to come to the table to support the union's proposals to create a contract that:

creates a safe and dignified workplace;

ensures pay equity, pathways to promotion and family sustaining wages;

protects jobs;

disrupts burnout; and

takes care of our community.

Unions and organized labor groups can sign on to this letter here.

If you are an elected official or environmental and/or social justice organization and would like to show your support, please sign on to this letter here.

Religion & Trade Unions

How many of us think about religion and unions or about religion and labor? This Zoom event looks interesting and I hope to attend. 

Here are some other great related resources to consider: the Catholic Labor Network, this recent article from the National Catholic Reporter, this statement from the United Church of Christ, this statement from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, the Faith & Labor Committee of Portland Jobs with Justice, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, religioussocialism.org, and the AFL-CIO has produced a series of papers on unions and Islam and The Qur'an and worker justice that can be found with an internet search. The Progressive National Baptist Convention and the AFL-CIO have revived their partnership. 

Solidarity & News From Unions And Friends

 

The photo above comes from the National Union of Healthcare Workers website. These are some of the California hospice workers who are coming into the union in large numbers there. Read about them here.

Marion-Polk-Yamhill Solidarity & Fun: Our Labor Chapter will be participating in the Salem parade this coming Friday evening, December 1st, and you and your friends and family are invited to participate. Please bring your union gear. We are going to meet near the intersection of State and Court streets in Salem at around 5:45 PM. We will be giving out some toys, distributing some treats, waving at the crowd and having a good time. I think that the route is a bit less than one mile, but don't hold me to that. Good times!

Second, our annual holiday party will be held on Saturday, December 9, starting at 9:00 AM and going to noon. We will be at the Ken Allen AFSCME union hall located at 1400 Tandem Ave., NE in Salem. There will be great music, activities for kids, Caesar The No Drama Llama, storytelling, gift bags, and snacks. There will also be a table for folks who want to organize a union or join a union associate membership program. The holiday party will be more fun.

SEIU Local 503, OPEU higher ed workers at WOU and PSU: At our last Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter meeting we heard a report from a union activist at WOU. Negotiations for a new union contract in our state's higher ed system are not going well. We supported a call to rally in support of the union at WOU at noon on Friday, December 15. If you can attend, please do so. The union has since posted a November 17 update on negotiations here.

Portland Jobs with Justice reports this from Portland State University:

Classified workers have started contract negotiations with administration at the seven Oregon public universities. These workers keep students fed, facilities and infrastructure cleaned and maintained, and so much more. Like so many other workers, classified staff are barely keeping up, choosing which bills to pay, and watching the value of their paychecks erode while the new PSU president is paid more than half-a-million dollars per year (plus a $96,000 yearly housing allowance). Community members and other allies are encouraged to join SEIU 503 workers for a rally to demand a fair contract for the people who make PSU work.

Where: PSU Urban Plaza, 1819 SW 5th Ave., Portland, OR 97201
When: Friday, December 1st, 12-1 pm

Photo taken from a PBS 2021 story about the Teamsters

 at Amazon.

Amazon's legal troubles continue. Read about one fight in Washington State here and one in Canada here. Meanwhile, workers at Starbucks continue to organize despite great pressure from the company. See this story. 

Starbucks Workers United

Doctors are organizing. Jacobin magazine has a great article on doctors in Minnesota and Wisconsin who are organizing a union of physicians. Another effort is underway in Oregon, California and Washington State with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.

Are you TRAPped? Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of "bank workers, salespeople, dog groomers, police officers, aestheticians, firefighters, mechanics, nurses, federal employees, electricians, roofers, social workers, paramedics, truckers, mortgage brokers, teachers and metal polishers" and others working under a "stay or pay" contract clause, often also known as a training-repayment-agreement provision (TRAP), that charges you if you leave your job? The Sunday New York Times Magazine of November 26, 2023 carried a long article by Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein on these oppressive agreements and that's where the incomplete list of occupations where workers are TRAPped comes from. It's possible that as many as one-third of U.S. workers work under such agreements and are forced to either work on jobs where they face burnout, poor safety conditions, harassment and low pay or pay employers and collection agencies what can amount to large penalty payments if they leave their jobs. This is what happens when unions lose power. Towards Justice may be able to help if you're a victim of TRAPping.  

Union holiday shopping: If you are doing holiday shopping, check out Union Plus before you get deep into spending money. It really will save you money. If you or the people you're shopping for are readers, the University of Illinois Press is having a holiday sale. They publish some of the best labor history books in the United States. International Publishers is also having a holiday sale and they have some great labor offerings. I recommend reading William Z. Foster's American Trade Unionism. Use coupon code IP@100 when you check out.