Solidarity needed now, a few learning opportunities, and some quick labor news

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. delivered the keynote address

at the University of Michigan’s Black Men in Unions Conference.

Read about it here.

Teamsters Local 223 & Eugene/Springfield Solidarity Network

stands in solidarity with Oregon Nurses Association! Photo from Tizoc

Arenas.

From a press release signed by Johnny Earl, SEIU 503 Higher Ed Bargaining Team Chair and
Custodial Coordinator, University of Oregon:

Here are some more ways you can help:

1. Send an email to the University Presidents asking them to settle a fair contract with classified workers and to tell management’s bargaining team to stop their hardball tactics at the negotiating table. (Click here for a list of the president’s email addresses.) If you have questions, please ask Len Norwitz at norwitzL@seiu503.org.

2. Attend one of the action the list below next week. If you can attend any of these, we would love to have your support. Please wear purple if you can, but if you can’t we’d still love to see you there. To RSVP or to get more information, email Len Norwitz at norwitzl@seiu503.org.

Come to Western Oregon University (Monmouth) on Thursday, February 22nd, from 11 am to 1 pm to help distribute flyers and have conversations with the campus community and students. And participate as we deliver our support petitions. Get oriented/meet at the Werner University Center on North Monmouth Ave.

Come to Portland State University (Portland) Smith Memorial Student Union on Wednesday, February 21st, from 9:30 to 11:30 am for an open campus strategic planning session hosted by President Ann Cudd.

Come to Oregon State University (Corvallis) McNary Dining Center on Friday, February 23rd, from 11 to 11:30 am and be a part of our delegation – “OSU cannot ignore us!” - to the Annual UHDS Soup-Challenge event that is open to the community.

Come to the University of Oregon (Eugene) EU Ampitheatre on Monday, February 26th, from noon to 1 pm and be a part of the gathering and delegation to the President’s office - “We will not be ignored”.

Southern Oregon University (Ashland) - 2/26 – Event info TBD

Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls) - 2/26 – Event info TBD

Eastern Oregon University (La Grande) - 2/26 – Event info TBD

We appreciate your continued support for our Higher Ed members and thank you in advance for seeing this through to a fair contract.

From Portland Jobs with Justice:

On Monday, the editorial staff of the Portland Mercury, The Stranger, EverOut Portland, Bold Type Tickets and across Index Media have announced they have joined together to form the Index Media Union, as members of the Pacific NW Newspaper Guild! JWJ was thrilled to hear about this new union at our most recent Steering Committee meeting, as all workers deserve a union! We strongly urge management at Index Media to voluntarily recognize the union in order to proceed swiftly to negotiating a fair first contract! You can find JWJ's letter of support, here!

Share their announcements over Instagram and Twitter, and give them a follow, too!

Please join the Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, JWJ's Portland Rising, and the SEIU-AFRAM Caucus for a special Black History Month Movie night! It will feature two short films and a special presentation moderated by Vinnie Blanco Jr.:

Travis Nelson, Representative, House District 44 will talk on health care inequities and efforts to create a new health care system, and

Sarina Roher, Secretary-Treasurer, Oregon AFL-CIO will talk on bargaining challenges for health care unions and the challenges of being a health care worker.

Thursday, February 29 from 7 - 9pm
SEIU Local 503 (525 NE Oregon St Portland OR 97232)
Masks encouraged!Join Coalition of Black Trade Unionists for great Black History Month programming all month, including the 2/15 Health Forum (on Zoom.) Find more at this link!

 

Get the truth and gain an understanding on AP African American studies here.

All of the members of the Georgia State Senate Democratic Caucus wore red bandanas last week in solidarity with CWA members who are leading the fight against an anti-union bill. The bill would make companies that respect their workers’ right to form unions through voluntary recognition ineligible for state economic incentives. (Photo and text from CWA)

My heart was troubled to learn this morning that Remington Arms is moving from New York to Georgia and that our United Mine Workers of America will be losing about 300 members as this move takes place. Perhaps Remington workers will go union in Georgia. 

New national labor network formed to “end the death and devastation” in the Israel-Hamas war.

For Immediate Release: Friday, February 16, 2024

Contact: Stephen DeMatteo at (202) 549-6748; contact@laborforceasefire.org

New national labor network formed to “end the death and devastation” in the Israel-Hamas war.
National Labor Network for Ceasefire aims to further expand unprecedented ceasefire support.

For Immediate: Release Friday, February 16, 2024
Contact: Stephen DeMatteo at (202) 549-6748; contact@laborforceasefire.org

Seven national unions and over two hundred local unions today announce the formation of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire (NLNC) to “end the death and devastation” in the Middle East, and to expand support for the ceasefire among unions nationally.

Together, unions calling for a ceasefire represent over 9 million union members – more than half the labor movement in the United States. The NLNC launch comes on the heels of a statement calling for a ceasefire released by the AFL-CIO last week - the largest federation of unions in the United States.

Among the national unions announcing the NLNC are the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), the National Education Association (NEA), National Nurses United (NNU), the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the United Electrical Workers (UE), joined by two hundred local unions and labor organizations. (A full list of locals can be viewed on the website).

The war between Israel and Hamas has continued unabated since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7th, killing 1,163 people, and taking 253 hostages. Israel responded with an onslaught that has killed over 28,000 Palestinians and left over 67,000 others injured. 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced, and humanitarian aid remains mostly blocked from those in need.

The NLNC is launching their website (laborforceasefire.org) with a call for unions and union members to sign the ceasefire letter to continue expanding labor’s ceasefire movement.

The NLNC supports:

* An immediate ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
* Restoration of basic human rights.
* Immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas.
* Unimpeded full access for humanitarian aid.
* Our president calling for a permanent ceasefire.

The Network consists of unions who have already signed the network letter calling for a ceasefire, combined with unions who have made their own ceasefire statements, and they represent over 9 million union members. This continuing groundswell of labor support for a permanent ceasefire connected to US foreign policy is unprecedented since the founding of the American Federation of Labor in 1886.

Some of the network unions have released their own statements, some have signed the NLNC letter, and some have done both. What all the unions have in common is a passionate commitment to peace.

“The support for a ceasefire is overwhelming. We can’t stand by in the face of this suffering. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We express our solidarity with all workers and our common desire for peace in Palestine and Israel,” says UE President Carl Rosen.

Network member and United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, says, “The UAW has a long tradition of calling for peace and justice for working class people across the globe, and we live that tradition today. In that spirit, we call for an immediate end to the U.S. government’s funding and support of this brutal assault on Gaza.”

The National Education Association (NEA) expressed deep concern for the many women and children being harmed in the war. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 70% of deaths in Gaza involve women and children. And according to reporting by the BBC, at least 94 of the 253 hostages taken were women or children.

“As educators, we believe strongly in our professional and moral responsibility to teach and model inclusion and respect for differences, and we must speak out against injustices and violence towards innocent people, especially children. Many educators feel a deep connection to the children in Israel and Palestine. We know that our children are watching, hurting, and in need of a lasting peace.” says Rebecca Pringle, National Education Association President.

“As a union that stands for equality, social justice, human and labor rights, we unite with unions and people of goodwill around the world in calls for a ceasefire, for justice and peace,” says APWU President Mark Dimondstein.

“The cries of humanity call for nothing less.” Bonnie Castillo, Executive Director of National Nurses United (NNU), says, “Nurses cannot allow our patients and our colleagues to continue suffering from the traumas of war. We vow to protect and heal all people, and it’s our duty to speak up for every human being’s right to a life free of violence. We’re calling for a ceasefire now before one more life is lost, before one more family faces injuries or illnesses.”

Association of Flight Attendants’ (AFA-CWA) President Sara Nelson, a consistent social justice supporter, noted, “Aviation’s first responders bring people together around the world. Saving lives comes first. Nothing else is possible without the security of peace, and the necessary attention to basic human needs. Ceasefire now.”

“Working people have a duty to stand up. We know that neither bombs nor bullets can fix a conflict of this magnitude,” says James Williams Jr., President of the International Union of Painters, and Allied Trades (IUPAT).

For more information, contact Stephen DeMatteo at (202) 549-6748; SDeMatteo@apwu.org or contact@laborforceasefire.org

Resources below: Link to NLNC website with sign-on letter, and partial list of links to individual unions’ ceasefire statements.

Laborforceasefire.org

AFT Resolution: Calling for a Bilateral Cease-Fire in Gaza and Promoting a Two-State Solution and an End to the Weaponization of Hate

Statement from APWU General Officers on the Conflict in Israel and Palestine

California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee Statement on the Crisis in the Middle East

Communications Workers of America Executive Board Statement on the War in Gaza

NARA IWW Stands With Palestinian Workers and Civilians

National Nurses United Statement on the Crisis in the Middle East

SEIU’s Mary Kay Henry Statement on War in Gaza

UAW Statement on Israel and Palestine

UE Helps Initiate Labor Call for Ceasefire in Israel and Palestine

NEA Board of Directors Takes Action – Reaffirms NEA Call for a Ceasefire

Catch up with some labor news

Portland Democratic Socialists of America has the following labor solidarity items posted:

Dealing with Difficult Supervisors - A Steward's Workshop
Wed. Feb. 21, 4-5:30pm (zoom)
This workshop has limited capacity and is for stewards and elected officers who work with stewards - not staff. Please register only if this applies to you.
REGISTER: https://labornotes.org/events/2024/stewards-workshop-dealing-difficult-supervisors-february-2024

Healthcare Workers for Ceasefire
Rally & Deliver Demand to Sen. Wyden & Rep. Blumenauer
Fri. Feb. 23, 4pm
911 NE 11th Ave.

Several labor organizations are promoting these important upcoming Black History Month events:

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists: Black History Month Events
Ongoing throughout February both on Zoom and in person in Portland
The Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) cordially invites you to join us for a month-long recognition of Black excellence in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association, Portland Rising, Oregon AFSCME, and AFRAM/SEIU Local 503. 

February 22, 2024 at 6:30pm: Labor History Workshop (In Person at Oregon AFL-CIO)
February 29, 2024 at 7:00pm: Movie Night (In Person at SEIU Local 503)

Click here to learn more about these exciting events!

There is this:

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) just picked up some bragging rights:

Approximately 34 in-house audio and video workers at Allianz Field, the home

stadium for Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United FC (MNUFC) ratified their

first contract Tuesday — bringing an end to eight months of contentious negotiations

 for the newly unionized crew.

Ford workers got this fixed:

We have this good news:

This is historic:

The staff of FRESHFARM farmers markets voted in favor of ratifying their

 first union contract, making them the first farmers market workers in the country to 

secure a collective bargaining agreement.

The American Federation of Government Employees says:

During a week of spectacular protest actions the following came from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA:

Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants Authorize Strike, Raising Stakes in

 Contract Talks

Senator Jeff Merkley @SenJeffMerkley 18h Solidarity with the @afa_cwa, @APFAunity, and
@transportworker workers walking out of major airports across the country this week. Flight
attendants are essential workers who support billions in profits for the airline industry. They
must be paid well with a strong #ContractNow!

A cautionary note:

An apology: I am unable to accurately credit most of the sources for the items given above  because of problems with my filing. Most likely came from the AFL-CIO or the unions listed.   

Some News From Salem-Keizer School District Workers & An Opinion Piece

The Salem-Keizer Education Association has the following notice posted today:

Today, at 6:21 pm yesterday, our union Salem Keizer Education Association declared impasse after 9 long months of bargaining. Not because we want more money, even though what the district had offered us was lower than we had hoped or needed. It’s not about the money.

We all know teachers don’t go into education for the riches and fame. We declared impasse because our district refuses to budge on a few major sticking points: class size caps (30-35 students in a class is too many) and FTE calculations (shifting the definition of full time employment from work load to assigned work time, requiring us to do the work of a full time employee with out the pay and benefits of a full time employee).

And then, we are greeted with this video blaming teachers for “walking away from the bargaining table”. This video is doing exactly what she says she doesn’t want: pitting the community against each other.

So, before you believe what the district is putting out there on social media, please ask a teacher about what is going on. We are not “walking away”, we simply are done being taken advantage of, and we are not giving up on the issues that are important to us and the education of the children in this community.

There is also this response from the union to an anti-union message put out by the Salem-Keizer School District Superintendent (see below):

 

The Association of Salem Keizer Education Support Professionals (ASK ESP) has the following posted:

We have also seen the following posted:

We are still at a stage here in Salem-Keizer when many workers go into union contract negotiations beliving that their employers will cooperate and that the commosense arguments, outrage and dramatic stories that workers know as truth and share with one another will win the day. This is especially evident in the public sector---where a majority of folks in Salem-Keizer are employed---because the logic of public sector work has traditionaly been that workers and management are, more or less, in the same boat and come to work with similar interests.

And then there is reality. Public sector management has taken been taking lessons from the private sector for decades and increasingly comes from the private sector and has been schooled (no pun intended) by groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council. They come to the table with a doubtful commitment to local communities, they go for short-term rewards, they are not opposed to privatization and breaking the system if that will help make their case that the system is failing, they understand how to use workplace and community leaders for their own purposes and they know how to isolate dissident voices politely. They lobby against us. Every crisis is an opportunity for them. And then they move on.

Union and community members don't see the handwriting on the wall and aren't prepared to fight back effectively, and every crisis is made more difficult for us by us having to catch up and grasp how public and private sector employers both understand that their interests are opposed to our own. In between contract negotiations we union members always forget and forgive. 

Our Salem-Keizer School Superintndent was quick to issue an anti-union message on social media, claiming that SKEA is bumping up against reality and that the District wants to meet all of the union's demands and do more but can't. She implies that the union is trying to do harm to the District. This is a common tactic, the intent being to turn the commuity away from the union and bring negotiations into the media rather than keep negotiations where they belong. Just moths ago Superintendent Andrea Castañeda was on a charm offensive, but now the gloves are off. 

But Superintendent Castañeda does have one valuable point. There is a crisis in school, local and state budgets in Oregon and school districts are among the victims of those crises. Most districts can't meet union demands with what they have on hand. The unions have a point as well. Given the crises, why increase salaries at the top? Did no one in a position of authority see this coming?

Labor---all of labor, acting in concert---needs to go on a charm offensive of our own and bring along local political leaders who are struggling to make budgets work. We need a solid people's budget proposal that does away with the kicker, taxes the wealthy, locks in contracting in (rater than contracting out), gets us to healthcare for all, and pressures state and national leaders to put a green new deal and social reconstruction in place. If our Superintendent of Schools and our City Council need a way out and forward, this is it. It's seems totally fair and necessary to me that every elected and appointed public official connected to budgets and decision-making based on budgets and every union leader be expected to advocate for a progressive program that moves us forward and to be held accountable if they don't.

Teachers, school support workers, public and private sector nurses and other healthcare workers, state higher ed workers, homecare workers, and local government workers are all hitting hard times right now. This is adding to political and social tensions before the November elections that we desperately need to win. There is no room right now for divisions on our side of the table. Whatever the divisions that separate us, now is a moment to work horizontally and in every section of Oregon.  

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any union or labor or political organization. Opposing views from union members are welcome and will be posted here.        

     

Workplace injuries are up in Oregon

A piece on JAM'N 107.5 says the following:

As a result of January’s winter weather, more Oregon workers were injured from slips, trips, and falls due to snow or ice than during any other storm since January 2017.

SAIF, Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation company, received 414 claims in January related to slips, trips, and falls from snow or ice. This included 151 in SAIF’s Northern region, which includes the Portland metropolitan area. It also includes 58 in SAIF’s valley region, including Salem—the highest number of these types of claims ever received in one quarter in the region.

“Significant ice and snow accumulation is uncommon in many parts of Oregon and it’s easy to forget some of the simple precautions you can take to prevent injury when the weather deteriorates,” said Kyle DeHart, senior safety management consultant in SAIF’s Portland office. “As soon as you see the potential for snow or ice in the forecast, consider talking with your employees about winter weather safety and ways they can prepare.”

The piece then goes on to borrow some commonsense suggestions from SAIF about how to best avoid slips, trips and falls. The advice given isn't wrong or bad advice, but workplace safety depends on workers knowing their rights and using them. Having a union and a strong union contract with health and safety language and having union stewards on site who will enforce the contract are essential. Here and here are two good places to start. 

An Important Discussion On Labor & Civil Rights

The following comes from the latest issue of the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association (PNLHA). I highly recommend joing and supporting the PNLHA and using their magnificent wall calendar for educationg yourself and others about labor history in the Pacific Northwest. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is one of our great union organizers and thinkers. His books and articles are especially important to building our labor movement.

On Martin Luther King Day, January 15, Michael Honey and Bill Fletcher discussed the state of labor and civil rights on the Tavis Smiley talk show on Los Angeles radio KBLA 1580. Here are parts 1 & 2 of their conversation. https://p.ftur.io/kblaam/13770 https://p.ftur.io/kblaam/13772 The International Labor Organization purchased 500 copies of Martin Luther King, Jr., All Labor Has Dignity, edited by Michael Honey (Beacon), and James Lawson, Revolutionary Nonviolence; Organizing for Freedom (UC Press) with Michael Honey and Kent Wong, has gone into a paperback edition and circulating throughout the California labor movement. *James M. Lawson, with Michael Honey and Kent Wong, with Forward by Angela Davis, Revolutionary Nonviolence, Organizing for Freedom: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520387843/revolutionary-nonviolence In Jacobin, 55 years Since King, by Michael Honey https://jacobin.com/2023/04/mlk-death-memphis-strikers-labor-civil-rights

“The question on the ballot is whether we save democracy in the United States of America or do we go to a dictatorship?” says the president of CBTU

The People's World on-line publication is highlighting remarks made by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists president Terry Melvin at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Legislative Conference held in Washington, D.C. on Monday of this week. It is quite significant that AFGE chose the CBTU president as the keynote speaker.

The People's World article bears some careful reading and consideration. The article says in part:

“The 2024 election is about the soul of this nation,” Melvin, said.

“The question on the ballot is whether we save democracy in the United States of America or do we go to a dictatorship?”

“Racism, white supremacy, and xenophobia are all taking us back to pre-civil rights days,” warned Melvin...Melvin’s latest example of Trump’s stranglehold on the Republicans—and, in turn, on the republic—was the recent bipartisan “deal” on immigration which senators of both parties reached, and which gave in to most GOP demands for strong anti-migrant measures.

“And then one on the Republican side, Trump said ‘Don’t sign (actually vote for) for that bill.’ And the Republicans turned around. The House Republicans called it dead on arrival.”...Melvin said that the way to beat Trump and other anti-worker Republicans is to emphasize Biden’s pro-worker record, point out that Republican-named Supreme Court justices and congressional Republicans stymied many of his plans, and to register increasing numbers of people of color to vote, get them to do so and ensure their ballots are counted.

The article points out that the dominant trend at the union conference was critical of the "Republican’s anti-union, anti-federal worker track record during Trump’s 2017-21 reign" and highlighted the disaster that "would occur for federal workers and all workers if Trump returns to the White House next January 20."

CBTU President Terry Melvin, keynoting CBTU’s 2023 Convention, called 

out thedanger of a 'racist, anti-democratic America' that wants to see Black

 and Brown people 'eradicated from stories about America’s less than perfect 

self.' | via Machinists Union and the People's World.

The views expressed in this post are not necessarily those of the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter or the Oregon AFL-CIO.

Sara Nelson & Hamilton Nolan to speak in Corvallis on Saturday, Feb. 17

The Hammer looks at the simmering battle inside of the labor movement over how to tap into its revolutionary potential--or allow it to be squandered--will determine the economic and social course of American life for years to come.

Hamilton Nolan is a labor journalist who writes regularly for In These Times magazine and The Guardian. He has written about labor, politics, and class war for The New York Times, the Washington Post, Gawker, Splinter, and other publications. He was the longest-serving writer in Gawker’s history, and was a leader in unionizing Gawker Media in 2015. Hamilton is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, East. He lives in Brooklyn.

Sara Nelson is the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO and a Corvallis native.

Date: 02/17/2024
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pmPlace: The Corvallis Book Bin
215 SW 4th St
Corvallis, OR 97333

Support the striking PeaceHealth home health and hospice nurses!

Photo from Timothy Welp

I participated in the rally and strike picketline held by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) last Saturday at PeaceHealth in Eugene. It was a great opening event for the strike. The home health and hospice nurses at PeaceHealth came to the action with strong public and political support that was evident during the rally. A February 8 program that ran on Oregon Public Broadcasting helped give the workers credibility and boost support for them. 

It was quite helpful and inspiring to hear State Representative Travis Nelson, State Senator (and candidate for Secretary of State) James Manning, local political and community leaders, a representative from Senator Merkley's office, and  Congresswoman Val Hoyle speak in support of the strike and the union. State Representative Nelson has a particular understanding of the issues involved given that he once worked for the company and is a nurse as well as a valued political leader. State Senator Manning is a hometown hero and leader for good reason and never fails to be on the picketlines and at the rallies when asked to be there. Congresswoman Hoyle held a sign proclaiming "People Over Profits" while she spoke, and by holding that sign she demonstrated the relative strength of a coalition that I hope can win this strike and others and help carry us through to a victory at the polls in November.

There were nurses from other ONA-represented units, Teamsters, AFSCME members, members of other unions, and socialists present with the ONA strikers on Saturday. I attended as an active member of the National Writers Union, an associate member of the United Mine Workers, and as an active participant in the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter. The local political and communitity leaders who spoke testified to the progressive and forward-looking nature of that forward-looking coalition that we are all a part of.

All of that said, it was the nurses and their ability to lead on the picketline that kept things together and moving forward on Saturday. They spoke with urgency and soul. Please go to the Oregon Nurses Association Facebook page and see the video posted on February 10 to hear the speeches and see the ONA members in action.

I understand that strikes and rallies are abstract to people until they show up and participate in them, and for that reason we need union members to lead and be disciplined and carry a message that speaks directly to people who have not been previously engaged. This is how we begin to make positive change and good trouble. I believe that active ONA members will gree with me here. The union certainly embodies that spirit, and that was made clear to all last Saturday and on the February 8 radio program.  

The national AFL-CIO has spotlighted the strike in a helpful Daily Brief post today. That post gives a very helpful summary of the ssues that led to the strike and says the following:

The 14-day strike began Saturday and comes after months of negotiations following the expiration of the nurses’ previous contract in April 2023. Historically, these nurses have received equal pay compared to their counterparts at PeaceHealth hospital, but management’s latest proposal offers a lower compensation to home care and hospice nurses than those working in the hospital.

While PeaceHealth's corporate executives received multimillion-dollar wage increases during the pandemic, they continue to refuse to offer home care nurses fair wages and a contract that addresses record turnover and job vacancies.

“We are not asking for more, we are not asking for special treatment, we just want equality. The way it has always been,” said ONA member and hospice nurse Heather Herbert.

Photo from the AFL-CIO Daily Brief.

  

The AFL-CIO post also has a link to a petition for union and strike supporters. A version of that petition is here. Please sign! ONA is doing a great job on the picketlines and the workers will welcome your active suppoprt. 

The AFL-CIO statement on the Situation in Israel and Gaza and word from the Texas AFL-CIO and AFT on the ceasefire

The AFL-CIO statement reads as follows:

February 8, 2024

(Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2024)—“The AFL-CIO condemns the attacks by Hamas on October 7th and calls for a negotiated cease-fire in Gaza—including the immediate release of all hostages and provision of desperately needed shelter, food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance to Gazans—and reaffirms our support of a two-state solution for long-term peace and security.”

Contact: Public Affairs, 202-637-5018

For some context that may be relevant to union activists here in Oregon, here is a link to a Texas Public Radio story on the recent Texas AFL-CIO COPE convention and the decision by that body to be the first state AFL-CIO body to call for a ceasefire. Read this. For some added context here is a link to the Texas AFT statement on their support for a ceasefire.