Response to U.S. Supreme Court decision on Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association case

COALITION RELEASES JOINT STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON FRIEDRICHS VS. CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CASE

“Wealthy special interests know that when working families come together and form unions, we make major gains for all people. In Oregon, we have increased the minimum wage, established paid sick days, and fought for higher standards for workplace safety. These changes improve the quality of life for all Oregon families.

These victories for Oregonians interfere with the agendas of millionaires and billionaires like the Koch brothers. In response, special interest groups attack working people by trying to undermine our ability to organize. In addition to the dozens of federal cases that have been filed by corporate-funded special interests, attacks on workers continue to come through the legislature and through the ballot. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed these special interests a major setback as an equally divided Court affirmed a lower court decision to protect workers’ rights in Friedrichs vs. the California Teachers Association.

While we applaud the Supreme Court’s decision, we know that it will not stop the anti-worker agenda. The same wealthy special interests who failed today in the Courts are moving to the ballot in Oregon. More than seven different anti-worker ballot measures have been filed in Oregon for the November 2016 election in an attempt to roll back the success we have all shared in increasing pay and benefits for working families. People across the state are standing up in numbers we haven’t seen in decades, so they can improve their lives and their communities — and no court case or ballot measure will stop this movement. The fight for better wages, better benefits and safer working conditions for Oregon’s working families will continue.”