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
📢 OFNHP Practice Picket at PeaceHealth SW in Vancouver
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 - 5:00pm - 8:00pm | 400 NE Mother Joseph Pl, Vancouver, WA 98664
Join us at our practice picket from 5:00pm - 8:00pm on October 11th at PeaceHealth Southwest (400 NE Mother Joseph Pl) where we can show management we are united as a potential strike becomes more possible. Click here to RSVP and let OFNHP know you will join them on the picket line!
🏗️ Rally to Support Operating Engineers on Strike in Corvallis
Thursday, October 12, 2023 - 11:00am - 12:00pm | Republic Services: 110 NE Walnut Blvd in Corvallis Stand with striking IUOE Local 701 members who have been on the picket line since September 11, 2023. These workers are facing unsafe working conditions including dangerous equipment, exposure to hazardous materials, and a lack of concern from management. Let’s help them win a fair contract that helps keep them safe on the job. Speakers include Oregon Speaker of the House Dan Rayfield, IUOE Local 701 leadership, striking workers, and Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor.
🏥Die-In Protest | Save Eugene's Hospital
Friday, October 13, 2023 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm | 1200 Hilyard St, Eugene, OR 97401
PeaceHealth's corporate executives in Washington are trying to increase their profits by shutting down Eugene's only hospital-PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District. Their greed will lead to worse health care for you and your loved ones, longer waits, and slower emergency response times.
Come to a Die-In protest in front of University District Friday, Oct. 13 and lie on the ground with us for 15 minutes to demonstrate to PeaceHealth executives how many people will die if they put profits over patients and close University District.
Oregon Workers on Strike
➡️ IUOE Local 701 Members on Strike in Corvallis
IUOE Local 701 members employed by a Republic Services subsidiary at the Coffin Butte landfill near Corvallis have been on strike since September 11, 2023. They are picketing outside of the Coffin Butte landfill outside of Corvallis from 5:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday, click here for directions to the picket line.
➡️ UFCW Local 555 Strike at Kaiser
Local 555 members began an Unfair Labor Practices strike at Kaiser pharmacies on October 1st and will continue to picket until October 21st. They are picketing at the following locations daily beginning at 6:00am and ending at 7:00pm:
➡️ UAW Stand Up Strike at the Big 3 Automakers
UAW members at the Chrysler Parts Distribution Center in Beaverton, alongside UAW locals around the country representing workers at the Big 3 automakers, have been on strike since September 22nd and will continue to hold the line until a fair contract is reached. They are picketing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Click here for directions to the picket line in Beaverton.
📍 Strike Map: Get Out There & Support Active Picket Lines!
Our Strike Map has been updated to reflect the end of SEIU Local 49’s three-day ULP strike at Kaiser, here’s the map for this week, click here to download the map as a PDF or PNG file.
Oregon Labor
October 6, 2023 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“The 58th Biennial Convention of the Oregon AFL-CIO was held September 20th - 23rd, 2023 at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in beautiful Bend, Oregon. With over 350 affiliated union delegates, guests and honorary delegates in attendance, our convention serves as the single largest gathering of Oregon Labor in the state and the spirit of solidarity was felt by everyone who joined us.”
October 10, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Over 210 delegates and 100 honorary delegates and guests assembled Sept. 21-23 in Bend for the state’s biggest labor gathering.”
October 10, 2023 | Fox 12
“Members of several unions rallied together Tuesday demanding fair contracts.”
October 10, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Members of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 will see a record-busting $23.25 an hour increase in compensation in their new four-year agreement with union contractors. That includes an hourly wage increase for journeymen of at least $19.77.”
October 10, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“More than 1,000 health care workers at two PeaceHealth hospitals in Southwest Washington voted by 95% to authorize a strike in ballots counted Oct. 6.”
October 5, 2023 | The Daily Astorian
“Nurses at Columbia Memorial Hospital have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract after several months of negotiations that included sessions with a mediator and a strike authorization vote.”
October 4, 2023 | Street Roots
Oregon saw at least three union election wins, 11 new campaigns or workplaces file for elections and eight labor actions in September. The three election wins is a decrease from six in August, but 10 new campaigns and election filings increased from six in August. September tied with August for labor actions.
Oregon Healthcare
October 9, 2023 | Willamette Week
Jen Laverdure, vice president at AFSCME Local 328, said the unions wanted the money distributed to other employees, not just clawed back. “We would like some transparency about what OHSU is planning to do with that money,” Laverdure added. “Our demand was not just ‘don’t give the bonuses’ but to spend it on those that do the work.”
October 6, 2023 | Willamette Week
“Unions representing employees at Oregon Health & Science University are circulating a petition calling on executives there to decline one-time bonuses that amount to more than $100,000 for the highest-paid leaders.”
October 6, 2023 | KLCC
“The Mayor of Eugene, Lane County Public Health, nurses and many other constituencies have voiced their concern about what this might do to particularly vulnerable populations in Eugene, especially those who need emergency care and mental health crisis interventions.”
Offshore Wind
Offshore wind energy is an emerging industry that stands to add billions of dollars to Oregon’s economy in the coming decades. The development of offshore wind platforms and associated infrastructure has the potential to add thousands of jobs by 2050—in construction, operations, manufacturing, maintenance, and associated economic activities.
Offshore Wind Works for Oregon is a coalition of labor organizations and other groups, including the Oregon AFL-CIO, who is working to ensure new offshore wind jobs are high-wage, offer new career opportunities, and long-term benefits for local and impacted communities.
Can you take a few minutes to provide public comment using this link? Enter your comment and provide the required information about yourself or your organization, then press Submit Comment when you are done. We encourage you to personalize the comments to make them your own, but here is some suggested language to get you started:
Responsibly developed offshore wind could create quality family-wage jobs and new career pathways for Oregonians in coastal communities.
With any offshore wind development, strong labor standards must be in place to keep workers safe on the job, pay a prevailing wage, and prioritize training and hiring women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, people with disabilities, and people in communities where offshore wind is being developed.
Maximizing the number of union workers that are part of any offshore wind project can help achieve these goals. Unionized workers earn up to 20% more than non-union households — and for workers of color and workers with less formal education, that figure is even higher.
Kaiser Bargaining
October 5, 2023 | Reuters
“Kaiser Permanente and union negotiators for 75,000 striking medical workers suspended a marathon round of contract talks without a settlement on Wednesday, the two sides said, hours after the largest such walkout ever in the U.S. healthcare sector commenced.”
Hollywood Strike
October 9, 2023 | The New York Times
“Hollywood film and TV writers voted overwhelmingly to approve a new three-year contract with the major entertainment studios, the Writers Guild of America said on Monday, formally bringing to a close a bitter five-month labor dispute. During the one-week voting period, more than 8,500 writers submitted ballots, and the contract was ratified with 99 percent of the vote, according to the Writers Guild, which represents more than 11,000 screenwriters.”
October 9, 2023 | Variety
“The Writers Guild of America has voted overwhelmingly to ratify its new contract, formally ending one of the longest labor disputes in Hollywood history. The membership voted 99% in favor of ratification, with 8,435 voting yes and 90 members opposed.”
October 6, 2023 | Los Angeles Times
“Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and the major Hollywood studios are wrapping up their first week of negotiations since the 160,000-member performers union went on strike in mid-July, but the sides aren’t yet close to a deal, sources familiar with the talks said Friday.”
UAW Strike
October 6, 2023 | Detroit Free Press
“UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday declared a "transformative win" with General Motors after the automaker agreed earlier in the day to include its battery plant workers in the union's national labor agreement, thereby avoiding an expansion of the union's strike to one of GM's crucial assembly plants.”
October 9, 2023 | CNN
“The United Auto Workers union says nearly 4,000 members are on strike at heavy truck manufacturer Mack Trucks after voting down a tentative agreement reached a week ago. The union said 73% of its workers had voted against the proposed deal.”
Education
October 10, 2023 | American Federation of Teachers
“A multiyear scheme waged by extremist lawmakers to exploit the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic to attack teachers and their unions was based on a flagrant misrepresentation of the facts, a new report reveals.”
Collective Bargaining
October 10, 2023 | The New York Times
"But perhaps most important, employers seem to be underestimating the determination of workers, who believe they have little to lose from striking amid rising prices and fundamental shifts in their industry that have sometimes made their jobs more precarious.
Culinary Union announces picket lines on the Strip as negotiations with MGM, Wynn, and Caesars stall
October 9, 2023 | KSNV
“The Culinary Union on Monday announced plans for large-scale picket lines in front of eight properties on the Strip as contract negotiations continue between the union and MGM, Wynn, and Caesars resorts. Union leadership called the negotiations “disappointing” so far and said the two sides remain far from a deal. “On economics for example, we're dollars apart–significantly apart,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Two of the companies made zero economic proposals or counters. And one made something so minimal, that was really not consequential.”
Organizing
October 9, 2023 | Reuters
“Former Starbucks Corp CEO Howard Schultz violated federal labor law by telling a barista in California who questioned the coffee chain's response to union organizing to "go work for another company," a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled.”
October 6, 2023 | The Maine Campus
“Last week, the University of Maine graduate union received its certification from the Maine Labor Relations Board. The Maine Graduate Workers Union-UAW was certified on Friday after an independent arbitrator decided that it had major support from graduate workers. The certification was announced by the Maine AFL-CIO.”
September 6, 2023 | Inside Higher Ed
While the movement has spread to private Southern institutions (a few Florida public universities already had grad employee unions), 70 percent of the new student worker units since 2022 have formed in the Northeast, half of them in Massachusetts and New York. The recent upswing of grad workers unionizing at private institutions bucks the long-established status quo.
Workplace Safety
October 5, 2023 | The American Prospect
“Why are jobs so dangerous in America? The rates of fatal work injuries in the United Kingdom and several European countries are one-third that of the United States, where a worker is killed on the job every 99 minutes. One leading cause of this heightened mortality rate is the proliferation of violations of employment and labor law that result in workers’ exposure to hazardous conditions on the job. We studied one such law, the legal requirement that certain businesses report summary workplace injury and illness data to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This law is routinely violated without consequence, but our research identifies an important mechanism to boost compliance: labor unions.”
Labor Leaders
October 9, 2023 | Deadline
“Alan Eisenberg, the longest-serving executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, died October 7 in Rhinebeck, New York. He was 88. His death was announced by Equity. A cause was not disclosed. Eisenberg led Equity from 1981 to 2006, a time of significant growth in membership, workweeks and member earnings, according to Equity.”
October 9, 2023 | Labor Tribune
“Elected as the union’s president in 2019, Conway was known for his quick wit, formidable bargaining skills and unwavering devotion to workers and their families. His opinion pieces were frequently featured in the Labor Tribune. “From his earliest time making steel to his steady hand leading us through the darkest days of the pandemic, Tom followed two simple guiding principles: the dignity of work and the power of working people,” said David R. McCall, the USW’s international vice president of administration, who was selected last week to succeed Conway as president.”
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