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
🎥 PORTLAND SAG-AFTRA STRIKE RALLY
Saturday, July 22, 1:00 - 2:00pm, Jamison Square, 810 NW 11th Ave in Portland
Join the SAG-AFTRA Portland Local alongside union members and supporters from across the Oregon Labor Movement to stand in solidarity with striking SAG-AFTRA members!
📧 APWU LOCAL 342 RALLY IN MEDFORD
Saturday, July 22, 2023, 1:00 - 2:00pm, Medford Post Office, 325 S Riverside Ave in Medford
Stand together to help APWU members in Medford fight against the consolidation of the Medford Mail Processing Center. The consolidation plan is nothing more than a cost-cutting measure that could jeopardize area service standards. If the mail processing facility is closed, it will lead to further delays in mail delivery for all of Rogue Valley. This move appears to be part of a larger strategy to weaken the image of the Postal Service, paving the way for private interests to take over USPS's market share.
👨🚒 IAFF LOCAL 2596 LADDERS & BARRELS FUNDRAISER
Saturday, July 22, 2023, 4:00 - 9:00pm, 4414 S. Pacific Hwy in Phoenix
Join IAFF Local 2596 for a fundraiser in Phoenix on Saturday! The fundraiser will include the official launch of Redline Whiskey along with a silent auction, food, ax throwing, music, whiskey tasting and kids’ activities.
⚕️SEIU LOCAL 49 INFORMATIONAL PICKETS AT KAISER
July 24, 26, 28 at Kaiser Westside, Interstate, and Sunnyside in the Portland area
Local 49 members are taking a stand to let Kaiser know they are UNITED to win their priorities! They are not backing down at the bargaining table, and need you to show Kaiser what UNION SOLIDARITY looks like. They’re ending July with THREE days of action at Westside, Interstate, and Sunnyside.
☀️OREGON AFL-CIO & LERC SUMMER SCHOOL
August 4-6 at the University of Oregon in Eugene
Registration is open for this year’s Summer School, sponsored by the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Labor Education and Research Center, hosted on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. Whether you are a new member or experienced leader, Summer School has something for you. Join us for a weekend of education, discussion and socializing with 100+ other union members from across the state.
Find more upcoming events on the Oregon AFL-CIO Solidarity Calendar. Do you have an event you’d like us to share? Send an email to communications@oraflcio.org and we’ll make it happen!
Take Action
➕ SUPPORT NURSING HOME SAFE STAFFING
Right now in the United States, nursing home residents are not getting the quality, dignified care they deserve. Nursing home workers are burning out and leaving the profession, which has created a staffing crisis. President Biden has promised to establish a strong national nursing home staffing standard. Now it’s up to us to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) follows through. We need your help to make sure our message to HHS is loud and clear.If you are a nursing home worker, have lived in a nursing home, know a loved one who has, or want to improve the state of care in our country, please share your story. Click here to take action.
Oregon Labor
July 20, 2023 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“As SAG-AFTRA members join the picket lines, the Oregon AFL-CIO and Oregon’s Labor Movement affirms its unwavering support for SAG-AFTRA’s strike against the companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the entity that represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery.”
July 18, 2023 | Oregon AFSCME
“The horrific murder of Cascadia McCarthy Place Mental Health Aide, Haley Rogers has placed a spotlight on the issue of safety at one of Multnomah County’s mental health providers.”
July 17, 2023 | Oregon AFSCME / GoFundMe
From Oregon AFSCME: “We are incredibly sad to hear of the passing of one of our members this weekend. Jeanie Diaz was a devoted Youth Librarian in the Multnomah County Library system for over 7 years. She leaves behind a husband and two daughters. We ask our members to consider contributing to this GoFundMe set up for Jeanie's family as they go through this difficult time.”
UPS Negotiations
July 19, 2023 | Teamsters
“As thousands of UPS Teamsters practice picket, rally, and mobilize around the country, UPS bowed today to the overwhelming show of Teamster unity and reached out to the union to resume negotiations. The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee and the company will set dates soon to resume negotiations next week.”
July 18, 2023 | Freight Waves
“The union representing UPS pilots says they will not cross picket lines if Teamsters drivers and package sorters walk off the job when the current contract expires Aug. 1, resulting in the immediate shutdown of the express logistics company’s global air operations.”
WGA & SAG-AFTRA Strikes
July 19, 2023 | Variety
“Sarandos reflected the frustration of Hollywood management, who have been pilloried as robber barons on picket lines. In citing his childhood experience with organized labor, Sarandos sought to counter the anger expressed by striking union members that studios and streamers sought the work stoppage as a means of realizing short-term cash savings and hurting the creative community.”
July 19, 2023 | The Washington Post
“Those branches and leaves had cast a welcome shade, shielding them from the summer heat. Now, days after Hollywood actors announced they would join striking writers in a move that has paralyzed the country’s movie and television studios, they were gone.”
July 18, 2023 | The Washington Post
“While actors and writers across the country are striking, audiences are wondering how their entertainment consumption affects the strike. Amid prominent movie debuts, such as the highly anticipated “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” fans are asking on social media whether purchasing tickets to the cinema or streaming new seasons of television shows increases barriers to a new union contract.”
July 18, 2023 | ABC 7
“On Monday night, the SAG-AFTRA negotiating team issued a statement outlining the key issues in the dispute and insisting that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers -- which represents the studios -- "wouldn't meaningfully engage on the most critical issues."”
July 18, 2023 | The Hollywood Reporter
“The two unions claim the studio has infringed on their members’ right to picket as well as their safety by obstructing the public sidewalk in front of their lot. NBCUniversal says it "will cooperate" with any inquiries from the National Labor Relations Board.”
June 17, 2023 | SAG-AFTRA
“Here’s the simple truth: We’re up against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers.”
On Strike Summer
July 19, 2023 | IA
"Technology has changed over time. Whether we talk about automation of auto factories in the 50s and 60s or the rise of the internet. Over and over again-- there's a bargain to be made. There's a negotiation to have. You're going to have increased productivity and what share of that is going to go towards profits and CEO salaries and what share is going to go to the people who do the work," said AFL-CIO Deputy Organizing Director Christian Sweeney.”
July 19, 2023 | The Hollywood Reporter
“IATSE is conducting a strike authorization vote after the theatrical crew union says talks with the Broadway League and Disney Theatrical Productions have stalled.”
July 18, 2023 | KQED
“More than 4,000 San José city workers are one step closer to walking off the job after mediated contract negotiations with the city broke down last week.”
Bargaining for the Common Good
July 16, 2023 | Vox
“Teachers went on strike on May 4, 2023, just three weeks before the last day of the academic calendar. The strike lasted seven school days. In negotiations, teachers not only fought for higher salaries and a better schedule, but for a set of what they called “common good” demands — like ensuring that all unhoused families in the district are expedited for Section 8 housing vouchers and implementing a task force on reparations.”
Public Service
July 17, 2023 | Newsweek
From AFSCME President Lee Saunders: “The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is working to address the staffing crisis head on with a new initiative called Staff the Front Lines, designed to recruit and retain qualified people to public service. And we are launching a nationwide summer bus tour beginning today, visiting approximately 20 cities and state capitals across the country—including Hartford, Conn., a short drive from Marilyn's hospital—to raise awareness about what is both an urgent need and a promising opportunity.”
Organizing
July 19, 2023 | The Hollywood Reporter
“Dozens of production workers at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network have gone public with their attempt to unionize with The Animation Guild.”
July 18, 2023 | The Seattle Times
“Dollar General violated federal labor law and “clearly intended to interfere” with worker rights in efforts to quell unionization at a Connecticut store, a National Labor Relations Board judge said Monday. Violations from the Dolgen Corp., which operates Dollar General stores, included wrongfully firing an employee and making an implied threat to close the location in Barkhamsted, the NLRB decision read — adding that the company also sent corporate officials to the store and other locations across Connecticut in response to a 2021 union drive.”
Technology
July 19, 2023 | The Wall Street Journal
“Unions are concerned not only about job losses, but about companies using AI applications to keep tabs on workers outside of their jobs, where an AI-driven system might identify a group of workers carrying their employer-issued smartphones to a union organizing meeting, according to Amanda Ballantyne, director of AFL-CIO’s technology institute. “You hear stories from workers about having their time in the bathroom tracked,” she said.”
July 14, 2023 | Yahoo Entertainment
““The greed is almost a legendary comic trope," he wrote. "One fun fact - when I was a youngin- I did a film (with a boom box ) and somehow I got points - net not gross. Never expected to see any money - but the film became quite famous - so about 10 years ago - I looked again at the financial statements they were obligated to report - and to my shock - they claimed they had LOST 44 million dollars on the film."”
Workplace Safety
July 19, 2023 | Common Dreams
“The recent death of a minor from injuries sustained while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi has elicited fresh outrage about the dangerous implications of the current assault on child labor protections across the United States. "How many more children must die?" AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler asked Wednesday. "Any lawmaker who wants to undermine child labor laws, in 2023, is a disgrace."”
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