Oregon AFT: What we need to know about Ballot Measure 118 (IP 17)

The following ws produced before IP 17 became Ballot Measure 118:

"Oregon Rebate" Ballot Measure Analysis - What to Know

This November, Oregonians will vote on a recently qualified ballot measure going by "Oregon Rebate", Measure 11X (aka, IP 17). This is a static cash check to Oregonians created by raising the corporate minimum tax.

Here are some topline analysis from our coalition partners in the pro-education revenue and labor policy spaces, as well as a new Legislative Policy & Research Office report from the State of Oregon:

IP 17 would result in a $1 billion cost to the General Fund next biennium by shifting over constitutionally required education funding from corporate taxes to the general fund

In addition, the Legislative Revenue Office estimates IP 17 would cost at least $1 billion in general funds to get off the ground

IP 17 provides a non-progressive rebate: giving the same amount to the highest income Oregonians and the lowest income Oregonians

AFT-Oregon is committed to stronger funding and a multi-year revenue campaign in coalition with labor and advocacy groups. This measure may set us back decades and hamper new funding efforts for higher education.

The Politics, Policy, Legislation, and Solidarity Council and our Vice President for Political Action have been approached multiple times by the backers of this bill since 2022, and concerns have been raised to the petitioners each time without being addressed. As a result, our members have never endorsed this measure.
_____________________________________________________

Corporations and the wealthiest in Oregon should pay their fair share. Everyone should have the ability to cover their basic needs. Many people have heard these lines communicated by the Oregon Rebate - and these things are true. However, the approach of IP 17 raises dire concerns about whether dollars will go to those who need them most, the actual impact on low-income families, fairness, and implementation.

1. Legal complications for Oregon

The petition language is unclear on the funding mechanism for the rebate program because of other constitutionally mandated funding allocations. Even if there were a 1:1 match between corporate tax increases and subsequent rebate checks, IP 17 will require new general fund expenditures to occur for State School and Highway Funds.

2. Immediate new General Fund costs (Oregon is already facing a $300 million shortfall for the 2025-2027 Budget)

IP 17 would shift over $1 billion in constitutionally required education funding from corporate taxes to the general fund for 2025-2027. The Oregon Constitution requires that the "corporate kicker" be dedicated to the State School Fund. If passed, IP 17 would increase the corporate tax collection and the corporate kicker, but then allocate those dollars to the rebate. The result would be that next year, Oregon would have to somehow come up with the funds to meet the Constitutional requirements towards the State School Fund with new dollars.

In addition to $1 billion in shifted funds due to constitutional requirements, IP 17 would cost at least $1 billion in General Fund dollars to get off the ground. Because of the difference in time frames between when corporate taxes are collected in Oregon, when budgeting occurs, and requirements in IP 17, an estimated $1 billion would need to come out of our General Fund to meet obligations for rebate checks in 2025 and 2026. And this is before considering the costs of replacing lost benefits.

Unknown additional new costs to replace state benefits. Under the measure, if people choose to take the rebate check, the State has to pay for benefits lost if the additional income pushes them out of eligibility. Aka, if the $750 impacts OHP, Medicaid, SNAP, or other benefits, Oregon will need to foot the bill to make the person held "harmless." It's unknown how replaced health care coverage would be administered, and the full impact of how this directly hits Oregon's federally obtained funds for programs is also difficult to predict. But it isn't cheap, and those funds would need to come from the General Fund.

3. Fairness and equity

IP 17 gives the same rebate to the wealthy as it does our most vulnerable communities. IP 17 does not center families and communities who need it most, and the petitioners have not addressed or integrated any of the ample feedback given to them. People who do not receive the money will get checks, reducing the amount that lower income people could potentially receive. A better approach would be a targeted basic income program or cash assistance program similar to other countries who provide cash assistance, or such programs advocated for by progressive groups in Oregon.

4. Local verses out-of-state approaches

IP 17's approach - like the kicker - favors the wealthy, does not resolve budget issues long-term, and has unintended consequences. The wealthy California venture capitalists who spearheaded the funding of this campaign in Oregon did not have deep, or seemingly any, knowledge about Oregon's unique tax, revenue, and Constitutional funding obligations. This means that this program will come at the expense of schools, higher education, health care, and other things Oregon pays for.

Oregon's racial and economic justice groups have been sidelined by the Chief Petitioners. There is a long-time Oregon coalition working on Basic Income that works for our state which includes Urban League, Oregon Center for Public Policy, and many other organizations. There have been pilot programs and studies done which have paved a solid path already. However, the Chief Petitioners of IP 17 were invited into this space to work with these organizations, but instead moved forward alone with this approach. This raises serious questions about the viability, impact, and consequences.

Parachuting into Oregon's election landscape. The campaign is funded by tech millionaires who have refused at every step to work with the labor movement and Oregon's economic and racial justice groups. They have ignored concerns from local organizations. Some believe that Oregon's Initiative Petition process, which is one of the "cheapest" in the nation for outside funders to influence, have been taken advantage of. It's worth considering whether Oregon should be an experiment for outside interests to play with our election system through paying for signature gathering with out of state money. If successful, this sets a dangerous long-term precedent.

APWU Mark Dimondstein Writes In Common Dreams---Rashida Tlaib: A Profile in Courage

American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein has the following opinion piece in Common Dreams:

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) holds a sign reading “war criminal” and

 “guilty of genocide” during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s July 24, 

2024 address to Congress in Washington, D.C.

(Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rashida Tlaib: A Profile in Courage

While she may have been a lone protest voice during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week, Rep. Tlaib did what is right.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

While she may have been a lone protest voice during Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) did what is right.

Most mainstream news reporting either ridiculed her or only briefly mentioned her silent protest displaying a sign with “War Criminal” printed on one side and “Guilty of Genocide” on the other. Missing was any analysis as to whether she was right. Let’s look at the facts.

Any objective observer of the war in Gaza must conclude that the Israeli government is guilty of war crimes and that those crimes are enabled by U.S. military aid. Ninety percent of the 2.3 million besieged residents of Gaza have been displaced. More than 39,000, mostly women and children, have been confirmed killed. The world-renowned medical journal TheLancet recently calculated that—once adding those beneath the rubble and dying from injuries and lack of medical care, disease, and famine—hat number will soon be closer to 200,000 people. Most homes have been razed. The medical system has been systematically targeted and destroyed, as have the water and sewer systems. Israel has intentionally blocked food aid, inducing widespread famine Between 111 and 165 journalists have been targeted and killed. People forced to move to “safe zones” have then been bombed.

The definition of genocide includes “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged, and its chief prosecutor has requested an arrested warrant for, Netanyahu for war crimes, including the purposeful starvation of civilians, willfully causing great suffering, and killings targeting the civilian population. As an indication of their impartiality, the ICC also charged the Hamas leadership with crimes against humanity.

Bolstering the ICC action is the everyday tragic news. As I write, Israel has just killed 30 and injured 100 civilians by bombing a school being used by displaced Gazan refugees.

Forty-five U.S. doctors and health professionals who carried out volunteer health services in Gaza sent a recent letter to U.S. President Joe Biden calling for a cease-fire and arms embargo sharing that, “with only marginal exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both. Israel’s continued, repeated displacement of the malnourished and sick population of Gaza, half of whom are children, to areas with no running water or even toilets available is absolutely shocking… Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered with our bullets.”

Shame on both the Republican and Democratic Party leadership for inviting a war criminal to address Congress and giving him a green light to continue the crimes against humanity.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) not only made it clear that she would not have invited Netanyahu to speak before Congress but that he made the worst speech of any foreign leader afforded that opportunity. She is right, as Netanyahu openly attacked those in this country who are protesting his war crimes and continued U.S. military aid and spread absolute falsehoods that the protests are funded by Iran. His rotten statement was also directed against those family members of Jewish hostages who were protesting Netanyahu’s refusal to negotiate a cease-fire to free their loved ones.

While Rashida Tlaib, the one Palestinian-American in Congress, courageously protested inside the Capitol, thousands of us, including this union leader and proud Jewish-American, were peaceably demonstrating outside demanding a cease-fire, condemning Netanyahu’s crimes against humanity, and the U.S. government for continuing to send armaments to Israel.

I am proud that my union, which deplored the Hamas actions of October 7 and condemned Israel’s barbaric response, called for the release of all hostages and advocates for a permanent cease-fire and for massive humanitarian aid. Recently, our union took further action by a vote at our national convention to demand that our government halt military aid to Israel and joined six other unions, representing over 6 million U.S. unionized workers, calling on President Biden to implement an arms embargo. As the largest arms supplier to Israel, the Biden-led U.S government should use its leverage to stop the carnage. We are outraged that the taxes of workers are being used to kill, maim, and slaughter innocent people.

Most people in the U.S. and across the world support calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. In this time of urgent crisis, those protesting Netanyahu’s war crimes take inspiration from Congresswoman Tlaib’s “profile in courage” and refuse to be silenced in the continuing struggle for solidarity, justice, peace, and freedom. The cries of humanity demand nothing less.

AFSCME wins a historic union contract that equalizes protections across University System of Maryland campuses

We have a few major and ground-breaking union wins to report today that may impact Oregon even if the wins are won in other regions.

The union win reported below comes from Maryland, but I believe that it speaks to a problem we're facing here in Oregon. Over the years our Oregon higher ed system has centralized and decentralized and downsized. Campus administrations have had high turnover, and it feels as if the presidents or other leadership of the institutions have often descended on Oregon as if they were locusts, bled the instiutions dry as they appointed their friends to top positions, and then moved on after a time to their next targets. Some of these institutions have been led by people who either encourage or tolerate unconscionable levels of corruption and whose goals seem to be either privatization of highr ed or personal enrichment. Students, workers, and the public all get ripped off as this occurs. We do not have a unified higher ed system that treasures developing and modeling critical thinking skills and that fosters or models democratic and people-centered education for Oregonians. Workers in the campuses are represented by many unions yet still lack a unified voice, and there is an absence of on-going student-worker and student-worker-community solidarity.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has won a victory in Maryland that points in a different direction than the one we're going.

The folowing post comes from radio station WYPR and the Metropolitan Washington Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

 

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal

 Employees union and university leaders gathered at a signing ceremony

 Friday to mark the official start of the standardized protections.

Workers at nine of 12 schools in the University System of Maryland are now protected under the first-ever system-wide union contract.

The new agreement raises wages, establishes health and safety protections, and guarantees permanent salaried positions for contractual employees after two years of service. The changes affect around 5,700 employees, from Frostburg to the Eastern Shore.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union and university leaders gathered at a signing ceremony Friday to mark the official start of the standardized protections. Before, each campus had different contracts, and therefore different working conditions.

“It shouldn't be that somebody at one school has designated water when it's 100 degrees outside, but yet on the Eastern Shore, you may not,” said Quiana Tilghman, director of student outreach and leadership development at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. “This makes sure that everybody gets the same equal, equitable and fair treatment.”

Melanie Lombardi, who runs the cable channel at Frostburg State University, said securing these protections was only possible through the collective power of multiple campus workers.

“It's finally giving equal footing for large and small campuses,” she said. “And with the voices of everyone together, we were loud, and we were able to get it completed.”

From the other side of the bargaining table, USM Chancellor Jay Perman also praised the new contract, saying in a statement that it “supports the University System’s employees, values their hard work and contributions, and stewards our resources responsibly.”

This change has been years in the making, with union advocacy leading to a law passed in June 2021 greenlighting the joint contract model. The USM Board of Regents approved the contract in a special meeting on July 31, according to AFSCME.

“While Maryland is considered to be a rather progressive state, collective bargaining and public labor unions are really only a recent development in the state's history,” said Todd Holden, president of the AFSCME local that represents workers at the University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland Global Campus. “It was really appropriate to look at this for what it is, as being really a first contract, and first contracts take a long time.”

Holden said implementing the new contract’s provisions will be another uphill climb.

“When it comes to proactively notifying workers of dangerous heat and dangerous air quality, that's something that's actually going to require work to do,” he said.

The contract increases the minimum wage for workers from $32,000 to $38,000, and gives a 5.5% minimum raise to all covered staff.

AFSCME members and leaders called the gains “historic.” But they also said there’s more work to do.

Under the new contract, some conditions will still vary by university, including telework availability and work hours.

That variability leaves the door open to favoritism, Lombardi said, with some workers approved to telework while others are not..

Tilghman said she wants to see a childcare subsidy included in the next contract. And Sally Davies, a retired worker from University of Maryland College Park, said staff also need transportation assistance.

“How do you get to the campuses? What do you pay for when you get there?” she said. “Right now, all of that costs a lot of money, and sometimes the public transportation is inconvenient.”

The new contract expires June 2027.

Organizing Gets The Goods: Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina Chapters of UE Local 150 Win Largest Wage Increases in Years

I frequently post about the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), and I pay particular attention to the progress being made by that union's locals in the South. This is an Oregon-based blog, so why do I do that?

I run this posts in order to make a point. The UE is what they say they are---"a democratic national union representing tens of thousands of workers in a wide variety of manufacturing, public sector and private service-sector jobs. UE is an independent union (not affiliated with the AFL-CIO) proud of its democratic structure and progressive policies." The union has a great history and is experiencing new growth in sectors that onservors might not expect the UE to find a base and growth in. But there are large numbers of workers who want to be union members and who want democratic, militant, progressive, and member-run unions and UE can be their union. I also run these posts because I want to make the point that workers can organize and win under very difficult circumstances. If municipal workers in Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina can fight and win, workers in Oregon can do the same.

Read about some great and long-term organizing and union victories:

Durham City Workers Union/UE Local 150 members rally for fair pay.

Photo from UE.

August 2, 2024

Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina

After over a year of organizing and turning members out to actions, city worker chapters of Local 150 successfully pressured Durham and Charlotte City Councils to approve millions in raises for public workers in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. On average, full time workers in Durham on the general step plan will receive a raise of over $8,000. Workers with more years of service will receive higher wage increases with some totaling over $15,000. In Charlotte, members won a six percent raise and an increase in the minimum starting salary, which is now $23 dollars an hour.

“This raise is a first step in recognizing the dilemma we face as city workers,” said Durham City Workers Union chapter Vice President Willie Brown, a crew leader in the Public Works department.

These raises come after a long fight to increase sanitation workers’ wages. Durham solid waste workers conducted a six day long “stand down” last September, which won $6.5 million in bonuses for city workers. The Durham City Workers Union held many rallies in 2023 and throughout 2024. Members also met with several council members and the mayor of Durham in order to build support for the proposals.

In Charlotte, UE members followed a similar strategy. “We do not have collective bargaining here, it is illegal, so one of the things we have been able to do over the past three years is a ‘multi-pronged pressure tactic,’” said UE Local 150 Charlotte chapter Vice President Robert Davis, who is Crew Chief One in Charlotte Water. “We have gone to city council meetings, met with city council members individually, had meetings with the Charlotte city manager, and had several actions at Marshall park where we have brought out as many members as possible to march to city council. With this multi-pronged pressure tactic, we have been able to mount community support and build a coalition of business leaders and other leaders around the city to gather around what we are demanding. We have made the wants and needs of our members clear.”

Charlotte City Workers Union/UE Local 150 packs the city council chambers.

In North Carolina, public-sector unions do not have the right to collective bargaining. When asked how union members get around this disadvantage, Davis said, “We have had to build a pretty wide coalition with the members of our union, community, and business leaders. We have been able to get their support and make our needs known as we go to city council.” Brown said, “While we don’t have collective bargaining, we have a collective agreement that we are all underpaid.” In the absence of collective bargaining, workers in the Durham and Charlottechapters of Local 150 use direct action to pressure the boss.

“We learned that we can still negotiate our pay”

In both Charlotte and Durham, public workers have been outspoken about their low wages. Many members are unable to afford to live in the cities that they keep functioning and clean. In September, the situation came to a head in Durham when members organized a “stand down,” refusing to load their trucks for six days.

Workers were being overworked because of the enormous amount of open positions. Over the course of the pandemic, sanitation workers’ step pay plans were essentially frozen. These issues were at the forefront of members’ minds as the stand down action started on September 6. Less than a month later, the city council voted to approve $6.5 million in additional bonuses for the city workers. Once that demand was met, members continued to push for an increase in their base wages.

Durham city workers held rallies, marches, and meetings in order to make their voices heard. In October 2023, George Bacote, a solid waste operator and Local 150 member, said during the public comment period of a city council meeting, “The truth of the matter is that there are a handful of guys in my department that are homeless, that are living in hotels with their wife and children.”

Brown explained how they are fighting back. “We understand that collective bargaining is illegal in North Carolina. But we learned through this process that we can still negotiate our pay. The actions that we took unearthed the reality of our situation that we didn’t even know. We have a much more educated workforce out of this struggle. Now we are learning more about how to move and take collective actions.

“Our actions have opened doors for other cities like Raleigh, Rocky Mount, and Chapel Hill. The raises mean a lot to me and my family. It means I will have more time to work with my family after I work my hard job instead of going to my second job to earn $100-200 per week. The raises ease the pain of the high expenses. Gas ain’t getting cheaper, and because we can’t afford to live in Durham, it helps ease expenses to commute.”

More Than Just a Raise

In Charlotte, members have won more than just a raise. The city council also passed an increase to the home ownership program, totalling $2 million in assistance, where workers can now get up to $80,000 for a down payment and housing counseling for improving their credit. Improvements have also been made to the education program so members no longer have to rely on reimbursements for tuition but can get money for college upfront from the city. Davis explained, “We have been able to do all of that without collective bargaining and we still have a seat at the table. We are invited to these meetings and with members from different departments to get our demands heard and get them met.

“The raise is something that everyone is celebrating in the area.” Davis continued, “We are fighting uphill but we are winning. Unlike Sisyphus we have been able to reach the summit with each boulder our members asked us to fight for. There is nothing special about Charlotte but what we have been able to win is absolutely unheard of. When I started here six years ago, my starting wage was $15.05 an hour and now the starting wage is $23 an hour.”

Members of Local 150 are partnering with the firefighters to push for a “Workers’ Bill of Rights” that would guarantee even more protections for members. “We have built a collaborative network,” said Davis. “We are getting our message out there, and making the city listen and respond.” Local 150 members in both Charlotte and Durham have proved that they can still win without the right to collective bargaining by working together and taking strategic action.

National Writers Union Statement on the Assassinations of Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi

 

NWU Statement on the Assassinations of Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi

In solidarity with our sibling union the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), and in the strongest possible terms, the National Writers Union (NWU) condemns the assassinations of our comrades Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and photographer Rami al-Rifi on July 31, 2024. The pair were killed in an Israeli strike while covering events in al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City. The ongoing violence against journalists, with at least 157 killed so far according to PJS, not only threatens our colleagues who are providing essential coverage of the reality in the Middle East: It also represents the extreme end of a spectrum of retaliation faced by media workers around the world for coverage or speech that is critical of Israel. We urge all journalistic outlets and their unions, along with nonprofits dedicated to free speech, to denounce these gruesome assassinations.

Israel’s war on Gaza has been the deadliest for journalists in modern history. These killings are a blatant violation of the international law that is meant to protect journalists and ensure our freedom of work and the public’s right to know. At least 39,400 Palestinians have been killed — and likely tens of thousands more — in the genocide in Gaza, including children and disabled and aging individuals. Adding deaths from starvation and disease, themselves the product of Israeli policy, the total toll could exceed 186,000, according to an estimate published in The Lancet in July 2024. As Israel appears poised for further escalation, this time to a regional war, it is journalists — our colleagues — who are in the crosshairs, answering the call to report on this violence and designated as targets by an unscrupulous military bent on covering up its crimes.

As a U.S.-based union, we have a duty to highlight that these continuing violations of international law would not be possible without billions of dollars in U.S.-supplied weapons and the support of U.S. political leaders in both parties, as reaffirmed by last week’s meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. NWU joins seven major U.S. unions and a growing movement of workers around the world to demand that our government stop arming Israel now.

The Valley Labor Report: International Rescue Committee Workers ORGANIZE for Themselves & their Clients

The Valley Labor Report does great work and deserves your support. Please support

 them here. The International Rescue Committee workers are organizing with the

Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).

Scenes, Words, And Links From Around Our Movement

 

The IATSE General Executive Board Endorsed Kamala Harris for President 

of the United States, Expressed Gratitude to President Biden

A strike is a last resort. No one wants to go on strike. We’re up against, frankly, an existential threat to our profession in the form of A.I. As you’ve probably heard from other entertainment strikes, A.I. is a huge concern. It’s especially a huge concern for our professions, for voice actors and movement performers. We have to take a stand because the protections that our employers have put across the table are woefully insufficient and are going to put a lot of people out of work.

Ashly Burch

Actor & SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Negotiating Committee Member

The SAG-AFTRA video game workers strike continues!

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., left , takes a selfie with her colleague 

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, PA. and dozens of supporters during a rally

 for Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala 

Harris on the South Side of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

 (Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress) See this article and please support the

 Pittsburgh Union Progress.

Sheriff Sid Hatfield (right) and Deputy Ed Chambers (left) were assassinated

 in broad daylight on the steps of the McDowell County, West Virginia Courthouse

 by anti-unionBaldwin-Felt company gun thugs on August 1, 1921. The assassinations

markeda tragic turn in the West Virginia Mine Wars, but the gun thugs did not have

 the last word. We remember them and all of those who died in the Matewan West

Virginia Massacre---and all of the Union women and men who died in the West

Virginia Mine Wars---as heroes.

See here to add your support!

(Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

“Wholly peaceful” picketing strikers at the Post-Gazette were 

legally allowed to picket on company property, the Pennsylvania Superior Court

 court says in dealing out the latest of a string of legal losses to the company.

At Portland Expo Center, Machinists union members at Boeing’s Gresham

 parts plant lined up to cast strike votes and collect gear like the red union

 T-shirts, above. The back of the shirt features a rattle snake coiled around the

 Machinists’ gear logo and the motto, “Will strike if provoked.” Photo and text

 by Don McIntosh. Read the story in the Northwest Labor Press here. 

According to an AFL-CIO press release, members of The

Bronx Defenders Union–UAW Local 2325 (BxD Union) last week voted to ratify

a historic two-year contract with their public defender nonprofit employer, one month

and a day after workers voted for strike authorization.

South Florida Sun Sentinel Workers Won Their Union Election by

a Unanimous Landslide--Photo from the AFL-CIO.

The Transport Workers Union of America secured the largest wage increase

 for Amtrak workers in the agency’s 53-year history after on-board service workers

 overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new seven-year contract on Tuesday.

Photo from the Northwest Labor Press. Media reports say that the Association

 of Flight Attendants (AFA) at Alaska Airlines has won a tentative agreement 

on a new union contract that contains many advances for the workers. Voting 

on the tentative agreement has been complicated by an extension on talks 

regarding the proposed merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. 

The union's strong campaign for a fair contract at Alaska Airlines was timed

 in part in synch with the merger talks, but with the unexpected extension of 

the talks the union vote becomes somewhat more difficult.

News From IATSE: Box Office Workers at Oregon Shakespeare Festival Unionize With IATSE

 

ASHLAND, OR — Box Office workers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) have unanimously voted in favor of joining the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 154, the union announced Thursday. This marks the fifth group of workers at OSF to join the union, following the chartering of Local 154 by the festival’s stagehands in 2016. Scenic, props, costume shop artisans, and Facilities/Maintenance workers additionally voted to unionize in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Along with the box office crew, an estimated 1/3 of the roughly 400 OSF staff are now under IATSE representation.

The Ashland Oregon based OSF has an 89-year history of hosting an array of performances. With over 400,000 attendees annually, the festival hosts performances from classics to new works, musicals, and world premieres. “While this unit of 12 workers may seem small, they are a mighty crew,” said IATSE International Representative Amanda Sager. “I think we often forget the important role these workers play. They not only interface with customers at the ticket offices, but field phone calls, enhance the experience for patrons, and everything in between. I’ve learned so much from this group.”

“We are horned to welcome these workers into our Alliance,” said IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb. “We represent thousands of box office and ticketing staff across North America. These workers are increasingly aware that to gain respect and a seat a table, they must organize.”

Live event and theater workers nationwide are coming together to win essential access to healthcare, training, robust safety measures, mental health resources, and avenues for professional growth. If you are interested in joining the movement, head to iatse.net/join to contact a live events organizer.

# # #

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees or IATSE (full name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada), is a labor union representing over 170,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live events, motion picture and television production, broadcast, and trade shows in the United States and Canada.

For more information please contact:
General: comms@iatse.net
Press: press@iatse.net

Project 2025 and Labor -- The Plan to Destroy Worker Power

The introduction to this podcast includes the following:

In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Jody Calemine, director of advocacy at the AFL-CIO, and Karla Walter, director of the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress, to discuss Project 2025's labor proposals. Watch now to hear about how the proposal would affect American workers, unions, and the labor movement if President Trump is re-elected in 2024. For more information on Project 2025, visit the AFL-CIO's guide to Project 2025 and Unions and the Center for American Progress' article, written by Aurelia Glass, "Project 2025 Would Undo the NLRB's Progress on Protecting Workers Right to Organize."

Labor for Harris Organizing Call and Five Related Video Clips

This is a recording of the August 1 Labor for Harris call that was sponsored by the AFL-CIO. Some of the powerhouses within the mainstream labor movement appear on this video. I believe that the most compelling speakers in this video---Teila Allmond, the rank-and-file member of UNITE HERE! who speaks, Fred Redmond, Claude Cummings, Jr., Clayola Brown, Lee Saunders, and Tryshanda Moton (my favorite of all of the speakers)---are coming to this from a place of of reflecting on their experiences as rank-and-file union members and with their ears to ground so that they are hearing what we are saying and what our concerns are.

It's clear from the video above that there is lots of work to get done quickly and that there is a place for everyone on board. It's also clear that Vice President Harris and her campaign needs to build her resume a little more with labor, remind us of what she has already done for us and with us, and that the pick for her running mate will be important to the union rank-and-file. Please see the videos below for some context. The clip from the Philadelphia Building Trades below signals a strong step forward.  

Vice-President Harris and Marty Walsh from 2021

Vice-President Harris with women labor leaders in 2021

The Phhiladelphia Building Trades announce their endorsement of Harris for President.