Building Power in 2025, Looking Ahead to 2026

Oregon AFL-CIO
20 hours ago
3 min read

The accomplishments of 2025, in the face of historic challenges and threats aimed at working people, proved what is possible when Oregon Labor stands united, strategic, and unshakeable in our commitment to building a fair and just future for all working people.

This year, Oregon Labor won at the bargaining table, in the legislature, at the ballot in special elections, and in workplaces in every corner of the state where workers said yes to standing together and taking collective action.

Defending Workers & Strengthening Our Movement

Over the past year, we mobilized rapidly against federal attacks, built deep coalitions, trained hundreds of organizers, stood with immigrant communities under attack, held record-breaking statewide convenings, and supported our affiliates through high-stakes contract fights. We strengthened our movement through recurring briefings on federal threats, Strike School and strike preparation, and a powerful legislative conference and Lobby Day.

Throughout 2025, we honed key skills within our movement by hosting a record number of Organizing Institute trainings and the annual Organizing Summit. We supported affiliates on strike by directly helping at dozens of picket lines around the state and working to keep up the pressure during collective bargaining fights. Each one of these efforts was geared toward building the coordination and readiness we need to keep winning for Oregon workers.

A Historic Convention in Seaside

The 59th Biennial Oregon AFL-CIO Convention wrapped up on Saturday, September 6, after two full days of fired-up speeches, powerful union solidarity, and delegates and guests from across the state coming together as the largest gathering of Oregon Labor in the state. With nearly 400 participants including delegates, alternates, and guests, this was the largest Oregon AFL-CIO convention in over thirty years. It wasn’t just a milestone in numbers, but in the energy, hope, and spirit of solidarity in the room.

Click here to read more about our historic convention, and save the date for our next convention which will be held at the Portland Hilton from September 22 - 25 in 2027.

Building Power in the Legislature

In 2025, we made history with the passage of Senate Bill 916 which extends unemployment insurance to striking workers. This milestone legislative victory was powered by unprecedented member mobilization alongside additional pro-worker legislative victories and the release of our 2024–2025 legislative scorecard.

Central to our efforts behind SB 916 was the 2025 Legislative Conference and Lobby Day on February 25 where hundreds of union members from every sector of the economy gathered in Salem to learn more about legislative priorities and meet with lawmakers. In addition to in-person meetings, the Oregon AFL-CIO worked tirelessly to control the media narrative around the bill. We facilitated guest opinion articles from workers as well as legislative champions and labor leaders.

Despite monumental wins, this was still an immensely challenging session for Oregon Labor. With federal budget cuts, escalating attacks on workers, and existential threats continuing over the next three years, we must seize every opportunity to elect pro-worker champions, protect union jobs and workers’ rights where states can act, advance responsible AI safeguards, build a renewable energy future with good union jobs, and win meaningful revenue reform so every Oregonian has basic rights, protections, and supports.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we look ahead to 2026, the work before us will demand the same unity, urgency, and resolve that defined our victories in 2025. Federal threats will continue, and new challenges will emerge, but Oregon Labor enters the new year more organized, more coordinated, and more united than at any point in recent memory.

A unified Oregon Labor movement will win the fights ahead, and chart a future where Oregon remains a national leader in defending the rights and dignity of all workers.

Thank you for everything you did this year to help protect workers’ rights and build power for Oregon workers. We look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you in 2026 to keep fighting!

Here are some upcoming events and key dates in 2026 you won’t want to miss:

January 22 - 24: Organizing Institute training in Eugene
February 2: 2026 Oregon Legislature begins
February 21: Strike School 2026 in Portland
May 19: Primary Election Day
April 8 - 10: Organizing Institute training in Portland
April 28: Workers Memorial Day
May 1: May Day
August 19 - 21: Organizing Institute training, location TBA
September 7: Labor Day
November 3: General Election Day
December 9 - 11: Organizing Institute training, location TBA