The Oregon Labor Dispatch is a weekly email and blog series designed to keep Oregon’s workers informed of the latest news about unions, worker power, and much more. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of news stories, graphics, and information about upcoming events and actions. When Oregon’s Labor Movement is connected, updated and informed we are able to be stronger advocates for all working Oregonians.
If you have a news story, event or action you’d like to see featured in the Oregon Labor Dispatch please email us at communications@oraflcio.org.
Upcoming Events
🪧 READY-TO-STRIKE: Break the Dam! We are the Tide!
Sunday, January 28, 2024 at Noon at Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown Portland
PCC Administration's delays at the bargaining table are forcing their AFT-represented full & part time faculty and academic professionals to consider a strike. Join faculty, academic professionals, students, and supporters to push through the status quo and fight for a better community college. Click here to make a donation to PCCFFAP’s strike fund to ensure they are ready to strike if needed.
📢 PFSP Practice Picket
Sunday, January 28, 2024 at Benson High School in Portland
PPS classified workers have entered medication and are fighting for a fair contract that offers living wages and safe, dignified working conditions. Join PAT, SEIU, DCU and ATU members in support of PFSP rank and file members to demand Portland Public Schools invest in its lowest paid workers.
📖 Support SEIU Local 503 Members at Oregon’s Public Universities
Thursday, February 8, 2024 at Noon
SEIU-represented workers at all seven of Oregon’s public universities will hold practice pickets to call attention to their fight for a fair contract. These workers play an essential role in the operations of Oregon’s higher education system and deserve to work under a contract that meets their needs. Click here to learn more about their campaign, how you can get involved, and to register to attend a practice picket at a university near you! You can also sign a petition to show support if you’re unable to attend a picket.
✈️ AFA-CWA Worldwide Day of Action
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 11:00am at Portland International Airport
On February 13, Flight Attendants from around the world are coming together to bring their collective struggle to the public eye. Together, they’re taking a stand against widespread corporate greed and fighting for the contracts they’ve rightfully earned. Click here to RSVP.
Take Action
🩺 Support Nurses at Sacred Heart Home Health and Hospice
Join the Oregon Nurses Association in standing up to PeaceHealth's corporate executives to hold them accountable to the community. Let PeaceHealth know you support local health care and local health care workers by sending a message to PeaceHealth's corporate executives demanding that they invest in our community's health and offer home care nurses a fair wage. Click here to take action.
⚠️Sacred Heart Home Care Strike
Support home care nurses in Lane County as they go on strike starting February 1 through February 13. The picket line will run from 7:00am to 7:00pm daily at the PeaceHealth Riverbend Annex in Springfield. Click here to visit ONA’s website for all the information you need to stay updated on the strike.
PeaceHealth executives in Washington are abandoning local patients and putting their own profits ahead of patients’ needs … AGAIN. From heartlessly closing University District–leaving Eugene without a hospital–to handing corporate executives multimillion dollar raises during the pandemic, PeaceHealth’s corporate executives are cutting health care again so they can cash in.
How to support the strike:
Additional resources & actions:
👉🏼 Must Read
January 24, 2024 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“...the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on union density. The report shows that national union membership grew overall by 139,000 in 2023. We also saw union membership in the private sector increase by 191,000 members, and the majority of new members are under the age of 45. The increases in membership are part of a strong resurgence of organized labor which also resulted in over 900,000 union members winning double-digit wage increases through new contracts last year.”
January 22, 2024 | Labor Tribune
From AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler: “When people ask me why the Labor Movement just had its most dynamic and successful year in a generation, I tell them about workers like Alicia — people whose lives changed because they stood together with their co-workers. For all the talk about macro trends and economic factors, the driving force behind the “Year of Labor” was simple: Being in a union makes your life better. We’re in a moment of profound uncertainty and disillusionment across this country. Americans are fed up with politicians, institutions and the status quo.”
Oregon Labor
January 24, 2024 | International Brotherhood of Teamsters
“Congratulations to the newest Local 324 members,” said Chris R. Muhs, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 324. “First Student workers are essential to the Silverton community, and we look forward to getting to the bargaining table to secure a strong first supplemental agreement for these hardworking men and women.”
January 17, 2024 | NBC News
“Librarians in Oregon shared concerns about the dangers at work including harassment, public nudity and violence involving weapons. Valerie Castro talks about safety options that are on the horizon to help workers feel safer.”
January 8, 2024 | Northwest Labor Press
“Laborers Local 483 reached a tentative agreement with Metro that will increase wages and paid time off for roughly 250 workers at the Oregon Zoo and regional parks.”
January 20, 2024 | KGW
“ Throughout the Portland metro area, first responders and crews have done essential work to clean up after the storm, restore power and save lives. Below-freezing temperatures and ice made this work even more challenging.”
2024 Elections
January 24, 2024 | The New York Times
“The United Automobile Workers union endorsed President Biden on Wednesday, delivering an influential boost as he faces a battle against former President Donald J. Trump to win the support of labor groups.”
January 23, 2024 | Oregon Capital Chronicle
“Chavez-DeRemer hasn’t sought an endorsement from Oregon AFL-CIO, or the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the statewide union that represents more than 300,000 Oregonians, a spokesman said.”
Strikes & Collective Bargaining
January 24, 2024 | Los Vegas Review Journal
“Culinary Local 226 members at a north Strip casino reached a tentative agreement with employers, the union announced late Tuesday. The hospitality union representing about 700 employees at The Strat negotiated a five-year deal with improvements on wages, work quotas, protections from technology and more.”
January 23, 2024 | Jacobin
“Late last month, 500 grocery workers went on strike in Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota. The strike exemplified the growing militancy in the United Food and Commercial Workers, who mounted successful strike threats against employers across the state last year.”
January 23, 2024 | Cronkite News
“Workers employed by SSP America at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport walked out on strike Tuesday morning in response to alleged labor-law violations. UNITE HERE Local 11, the union that represents the strikers, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for alleged “unilateral changes” made to the SSP America payroll system.”
January 23, 2024 | Long Beach Business Journal
“Unionized flight attendants for Southwest Airlines, one of the nation’s largest air carriers, voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to authorize a strike following years of failed contract negotiations. The announcement comes the day after Southwest pilots ratified a new contract. According to Transport Workers Union of America Local 556, the union that represents the Southwest flight attendants, 98% of workers voted in favor of the strike, which “sends a strong message of solidarity to “Southwest Airlines Management.”
January 23, 2024 | Deadline
“The Hollywood unions are throwing their support behind the American Federation of Musicians as it begins its contract negotiations with the studios. The AFM entered into negotiations with the AMPTP for its new collective bargaining agreement on Monday, fighting for many of the same things the WGA and SAG-AFTRA did during last year’s dual strikes, including AI protections, increased wages, and improved streaming residuals.”
Organizing
January 24, 2024 | The Austin Chronicle
“Just under six months after the Texas Tribune weathered its first-ever round of layoffs, staff announced this morning that they are unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA and asking for voluntary recognition from management by January 31. CEO Sonal Shah sent an email to staff 15 minutes after management was made aware of the union, writing, “Our response is simple. If Tribune employees want to be represented by a union, we will respect their right to representation… We respect our colleagues’ right to collectively bargain.”
Labor & Technology
January 22, 2024 | Politico
“Ask AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler what she wants from the federal government on artificial intelligence, and her first answer isn’t a surprise: Strengthen collective bargaining rights, like, generally. “Through every industrial revolution, labor has been the force that has harnessed the technology and channeled it in a way that’s productive and safe,” Shuler said in an interview this month, speaking from a summit alongside the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.”
Taxes
January 23, 2024 | Common Dreams
“Two new reports published Tuesday by the Roosevelt Institute argue that robust corporate taxation is key to creating a strong economy and improving the well-being of families and children—objectives that have been undermined in the decades since the Reagan era by regressive tax cuts enacted on the false premise that benefits would "trickle down" to the rest of society.”
Reproductive Justice
January 22, 2024 | AFL-CIO
“Equal access to contraception and reproductive health care, regardless of where someone works or lives, is essential to workers’ fundamental freedoms and economic security. The 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision is a solemn reminder that reproductive health care rights are also worker rights.”
