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
📣 Rally with SEIU Local 503 Members at Portland State University
Tomorrow: Friday, December 1, Urban Plaza, SW Mill St in Portland at noon
SEIU Local 503 members are rallying at PSU to show they are united, strong, and fighting for the fair contract they deserve. Join with them to send a strong message to PSU administration!
📖 University of Oregon Labor Center Collective Bargaining Institute
December 3-8, University Place Hotel, Portland Oregon
Want to be ready for your next round of bargaining? Join union leaders from around the state at the Labor Education and Research Center's Collective Bargaining Institute. In this hands-on program, participants learn all the fundamentals of effective negotiations -- from drafting proposals and contract costing, to managing the bargaining team and finding a settlement. Scholarships are available! Click here for more details and to register online.
🎄81st Annual Children’s Holiday Party - Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter
December 9, 9:00am -12:00pm, Ken Allen AFSCME Labor Canter, 1400 Tandem Ave NE in Salem
Join the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter for a free and fun-filled event with cookies, crafts, gift bags, live music and the one and only Caesar the No Drama Llama.
🛍️ The Labor Market: Flea Market and Maker Fair
December 9-10, Goldsmith Blocks Building, 412 NW Couch in Portland, 10:00am - 6:00pm
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind film worker flea market and maker fair! The Labor Market will feature original works of art, handcrafts and other creative products made by film workers, and a flea market where treasures you’ve seen on the screen in locally filmed tv shows and movies could be waiting to be discovered. All sales of goods go directly to the Union member-vendor. The market will have live music, entertainment, raffles, and special guest Santa Claus.
Take Action
📩 Tell the University of Oregon Board of Trustees: Don’t Cut Off Employee Healthcare!
Take action to stand with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation at the University of Oregon who are fighting hard for a fair contract and may face cuts to their healthcare by the Board of Trustees.
🏫 Respect for Oregon Public University Staff
Please take a moment to sign a pledge in support of the 4,500 classified workers at Oregon’s public universities in their campaign to win working conditions that help students succeed, and wages that allow them to support themselves and their families. Click here to sign on.
Oregon Labor
November 28, 2023 | OPB
“According to the union, teachers approved the contract with overwhelming support. More than 93% of members voted, with 94.7% voting to ratify. PAT represents the largest group of educators in the district, including classroom and special education teachers, counselors, speech-language pathologists and many more.”
November 23, 2023 | Oregon Capital Chronicle
“This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the teachers, nurses and other workers who have walked the picket line to demand better wages and working conditions. I am thankful for the workers who have risked their jobs to form a union. I am thankful for a resurgent labor movement — the most hopeful sign that a brighter future for our state and nation is possible.”
November 16, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Members of IBEW Local 48 ratified three agreements in the last month that cover nearly all of the union’s 6,000 members.”
November 16, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“The grocery union wants repeal of self-service gas, union neutrality at cannabis businesses, and legislative and hospital reforms.”
Oregon Politics
November 21, 2023 | Oregon Capital Inside
“The proposal from Reps. Vikki Breese-Iverson, Jami Cate and Christine Goodwin, all rural Republicans, will almost certainly be dead on arrival in the state Capitol, where Democrats supported by the Oregon Education Association control both legislative chambers and the governor’s office.”
Healthcare
November 21, 2023 | The Lund Report
“Following a Washington state investigation into PeaceHealth, the Vancouver-based health system has agreed to provide refunds worth as much as $13.4 million to as many as 11,500 past patients of its five hospitals in the state. But PeaceHealth tells The Lund Report those refunds won’t be extended to Oregon, where PeaceHealth has operated four hospitals, and where the Oregon Department of Justice says it is not currently investigating PeaceHealth.”
Strikes
November 28, 2023 | Detroit Free Press
“Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced late Tuesday that it has reached a tentative contract agreement with the UAW that would bring an end to a strike involving more than 1,000 Blue Cross workers.“
November 24, 2023 | King 5
“Hundreds of Macy’s department store workers went on strike Friday at three western Washington locations over what the union called unfair labor practices. About 400 workers were expected to picket at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood and Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, which the union said would effectively shut down stores. Macy's has confirmed stores will remain open.”
Collective Bargaining
November 28, 2023 | The New York Times
“After months of wrangling, New York City Ballet and the union representing its musicians announced on Tuesday they had reached a deal for a new contract.”
November 27, 2023 | Los Angeles Times
“USC and about 3,000 newly unionized graduate student workers who teach, grade and do research reached a tentative labor agreement Sunday evening with big pay boosts and anti harassment protections, averting a threatened Tuesday strike weeks before final exams.”
November 27, 2023 | Black Enterprise
“Black Hollywood actors “feel heard” now that SAG-AFTRA has finally addressed their long-overlooked concerns about hair and makeup. Details into SAG-AFTRA’s recently reached deal with Hollywood studios reveal the new provisions for hair and makeup that will greatly benefit actors with more textured hair who have faced discrimination in the past.”
Organizing
November 28, 2023 | Reuters
“Ten of Walt Disney's (DIS.N) animation workers who operate remotely across six U.S. states are seeking to unionize, the Animation Guild said on Tuesday. The workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board for an official union election and sought representation by the Animation Guild and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).”
November 28, 2023 | The Guardian
“Lego play sets have captivated children and adults alike for decades, but engineers at Legoland California are dealing with blocks of a different kind: opposition from management and hired union avoidance consultants trying to deter their bid to formally unionize.”
November 27, 2023 | The Stand
“After 12 months of fighting for their union, workers at Tacoma Art Museum voted overwhelmingly Nov. 15-16 to form Tacoma Art Museum Workers United. This year-long campaign brought workers from multiple departments together, the first museum workers union in Washington to do so.”
Supporting Workers
November 29, 2023 | People’s World
“Retail workers, trying to deal with hordes of customers between now and New Year’s Day, warehouse workers—especially at Amazon—engaging in backbreaking and sometimes dangerous toil to get your goods to you, and farmworkers who put food on your holiday tables need dignity and respect from you as a consumer, the head of a top retail union says. That’s because they face many problems on the job.”
