This is a blog about building labor and community solidarity in Oregon's Mid-Willamette Valley and beyond. The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors only unless otherwise noted.
RSVP today to join our allies at PNHP NY Metro Chapter this coming Tuesday, May 14th at 7:30pm Eastern for their virtual educational forum, On The Rise: Doctors Unionizing & Organizing for Single Payer.
"Physicians and other healthcare professionals are unionizing. What is motivating this phenomenon? How and why do fiercely independent professionals get organized? What are the connections between this increasing interest in unionization and in advocacy for establishing an equitable, single payer healthcare system that prioritizes patients rather than profits? Our May forum will feature frontline physicians who have been leaders in successful unionization efforts, in New York and from around the country, as well as professional labor union organizing staff. We will explore forces driving unionization, and the fight against both the corporate practice of medicine and broader financialization of healthcare."
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.
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
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.
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.
