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
🏫 BARGAINING RALLY AT UNIVERSITY OF OREGON IN EUGENE June 2 at McKenzie Hall at the University of Oregon: 11:30am Join the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation for a rally to support their bargaining team outside of McKenzie Hall on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. ⚕️AFSCME RALLY AT OHSU June 7 at Mac Hall lawn at OHSU (top level of the Sam Jackson parking lot off of SW Sam Jackson Park Road): 12:00 - 1:00pm OHSU must cover the research gap. Creating unfunded mandates of pay increases only puts OHSU’s lowest paid employees at risk of losing their jobs. OHSU’s global reputation is built upon the cutting edge research that our members and future members make possible. If OHSU wants to be a top tier research institute, they need to support their research staff. It’s time for OHSU to step up and make it possible for them to make a decent living! 🏥 PEACEHEALTH SACRED HEART INFORMATIONAL PICKETS IN LANE COUNTY June 7 in Springfield at PeaceHealth Riverbend, corner of MLK and Cardinal Way and in Eugene at PeaceHealth University District, corner of 13th and Hilyard, both pickets start at 3:00pm Support nurses working at PeaceHealth in Springfield and Eugene at two informational pickets! Stand with nurses at PeaceHealth in their fight for a fair contract. ✊ RALLY AT THE STATE CAPITOL June 8 at the Oregon State Capitol Building: 12:00 - 2:00pm Join SEIU Local 503 at the State Capitol to rally on June 8th to fight for real wage increases, workplace safety, manageable workloads, and to end the state workforce crisis! Gather to show support for the Local 503 bargaining team and demand the State funds our contract and the Department of Administrative Services support their workforce. Click here to register for the rally. 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
📢 TELL LAWMAKERS: INVEST IN HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION
Our state's historic revenue levels present a unique opportunity to invest in reducing homelessness and displacement. With so many Oregonians at risk of homelessness due to financial hardships, we must take immediate action. Click here to contact your legislators.
⚠️ END THE WALKOUT & PASS AN EQUITABLE STATE BUDGET
State lawmakers just learned there is $1.9 billion more revenue than expected for our State’s budget. That means there is more money than ever available to invest in our communities. It is time for the legislature to invest in the things Oregonians need to have a fair shot: housing, child care, health care, schools, wildfire and drought relief, access to food, a strong public workforce, and more. But we can’t do that unless the walkout ends, and the State Senate has a quorum. Click here to take action.
Oregon Nurses Association & St. Charles Bend
St. Charles Bend is in crisis. It’s hemorrhaging nurses and it’s harming the health of the community. More than 500 nurses have left the hospital in the last few years due to dangerous working conditions, unlivable wages and no support or respect from St. Charles’ executives. The nurses who are left are fighting for the lives of their patients. Click here to learn more about the struggle at St. Charles and how you can get involved to help support the nurses who provide critical care at this vital Central Oregon hospital.
Oregon State Senate Walkout
May 31, 2023 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“With just four weeks left in the 2023 Oregon Legislature, time is running out for lawmakers to pass critical worker protection bills and state agency budgets that support working people. Legislation being stalled by the walkout includes protections for returning to work in workers’ compensation settlements, streamlining public sector union elections, the budget for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, the budgets that support the State of Oregon’s agencies and workforce, and more. In a press release issued on May 23, Senate Republicans vowed to wait until June 25 to return to work - putting critical bills and budgets in jeopardy of not passing.”
May 31, 2023 | OPB
“I’m very disappointed with where we are,” Kotek said in an interview. “We are at an impasse with one month left.”
May 30, 2023 | Oregon Capitol Chronicle
“Senators continue to collect their pay and a $157-a-day per diem regardless of whether they show up for floor sessions.”
Debt Ceiling
May 31, 2023 | AFL-CIO
““For months, extremist House Republicans have held our economy hostage in a manufactured debt ceiling crisis, threatening working people with economic catastrophe. Millions of workers and families were pawns in their game, holding our collective breath as we worried about losing our jobs and livelihoods to protect tax cuts for billionaires.”
Writers’ Strike
May 30, 2023 | ABC 23
“It's been nearly a month since the Writers Guild of America went on strike. The writers failed to reach an agreement with the studios and streaming platforms that make up the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. As the strike continues, it's becoming more likely that audiences will see an impact on their favorite movies and shows.”
May 30, 2023 | Deadline
“WGA West President Meredith Stiehm is urging Netflix and Comcast stockholders to reject pay raises for the companies’ top executives at their upcoming shareholders meetings, saying that approving the proposed pay packages is “inappropriate in light of the ongoing WGA writers’ strike.” The Netflix shareholders meeting will be held on Thursday and Comcast will hold its on June 7.”
May 26, 2023 | Defector
“At the center of the Hollywood writers strike is this simple fact: Streaming is not meaningfully different from how people have always watched television and movies. You have some form of screen—a TV, laptop, tablet, whatever—and you choose something to watch. Though the specific mode of delivery has changed—the TV antenna became the cable box and then WiFi—and hard 22-minute time limits aside, the way people consume TV shows looks remarkably similar to how it has been for the past several decades.”
Starbucks Organizing
May 24, 2023 | Huffington Post
“The union Workers United has been trying to negotiate first contracts for the more than 300 Starbucks locations that have formed unions since late 2021. But since those stores unionized one by one, the coffee chain has maintained that each store should negotiate its own contract.”
May 11, 2023 | Reuters
“Labor unions on Thursday asked a United Nations agency to investigate whether gaps in U.S. law have allowed Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) to allegedly violate the rights of baristas organizing at the coffee chain's cafes, a filing seen by Reuters showed.”
Fighting Back
May 21, 2023 | IBEW
“When Michigan repealed its so-called right-to-work law in March, it wasn't just a huge victory for working families in that state. It was a shot across the bow.”
Why Paid Family & Medical Leave Is Important
May 30, 2023 | KGW
“Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.”
May 22, 2023 | McKnights Senior Living
“Paid leave policies help eliminate the “caregiver penalties” many women face for being the primary caregivers in their families, Deborah Pascal, senior program analyst in the Midwest regional office of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor, said during a recent webinar hosted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”
May 11, 2023 | The 19th
“A first-of-its-kind report from the Department of Labor studying women in their early 40s calculated how much they lose as a result of their caregiving responsibilities for children and parents. The impact is especially high for Latinas.”
Child Labor
May 25, 2023 | NPR
“There's been a fierce debate in many states this year about child labor laws. Take Iowa. A bill there would allow minors to sell fireworks, serve alcohol and work later at night. Iowa Public Radio's Katarina Sostaric reports industries facing worker shortages have pushed to roll back protections that have been in place for years.”
Oregon State Senate Walkout Graphics