The Oregon Labor Dispatch: October 26, 2023
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.
Oregon Workers on Strike
➡️OFNHP, AFT Local 5017 on Strike at PeaceHealth in SW Washington
More than 1,300 healthcare workers from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview began a ULP strike on October 23. The workers will be on strike for five days and are prepared to return to work on Saturday, October 28. The picket lines are active at the following locations from 6:30am until 7:00pm daily:
➡️ UFCW Local 555 Strike at Kaiser
Local 555 members working at Kaiser facilities across Oregon and Southwest Washington are currently engaged in a ULP strike until November 18, 2023. Picketing is happening daily from 6:00am - 6:00pm at the following locations:
➡️ UAW Stand Up Strike
While UAW members secured a tentative agreement with Ford this week, UAW members at the Chrysler Parts Distribution Center in Beaverton, alongside UAW locals around the country, are continuing to strike until a fair contract is reached with Stellantis and General Motors. They are picketing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
➡️ 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.
Strike Map
Our updated Strike Map can be downloaded here, please share far and wide!
This week’s map includes picketing locations and times for OFNHP, AFT Local 5017, UFCW Local 555, UAW Local 492, and IUOE Local 701. Please note: While SAG-AFTRA is still on strike, they do not have active picket lines in our region. Should that change we will update the map accordingly, for SAG-AFTRA or any other union that goes on strike in our area.
Upcoming Events
🏫 March for Portland Students!
Saturday, October 28 | 9:00am rally, 10:00am march | PAT: 345 NE 8th Ave in Portland
Join the Portland Association of Teachers to march for Portland students, where educators and parents are rallying for the outstanding public schools our future deserves. Portland teachers are committed to building safe, modern classrooms and providing personalized attention to students, all while ensuring dedicated educators receive competitive wages and benefits. Your support is essential to shape a thriving educational landscape for our community. Click here for more information.
🎥 IATSE Local 600 Video Editors and Photographers Rally & Picket KGW in Portland
Thursday, November 2, 2023 | 8:00am - 9:00am | Pioneer Park Building: 715 SE Morrison St in Portland
Please join IATSE Local 600 video editors and photographers employed by KGW for a rally and picket to send a message to KGW management that Local 600 members deserve fair wages and job security.
🏤 No Cuts, No Closures: Save the Post Office
Monday, November 6, 2023 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm | East Portland Post Office: 1020 SE 7th Ave in Portland
Stand with APWU Local 128 to protest a huge transformation of Oregon's Postal Service which is planned to begin in 2024. Postal workers’ jobs are on the line - let’s rally and demand no more cuts to our Postal Service! Click here to learn more about the proposed changes.
Take Action
Better Care Now: Safe Staffing for Nursing Homes
Just about everyone in America has a loved one in a nursing home, knows someone who works in a nursing home, or recognizes that they may need nursing home care in the future—even if just temporarily. But understaffed nursing homes put the health and safety of both residents and workers at risk. Tell the Department of Health and Human Services: We need safe staffing now! The deadline to submit is November 6, 2023.
Add your voice to support safe staffing: The Biden administration has proposed a historic new rule that would establish a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes for the first time. The nursing home industry is spending big to prevent this rule from being finalized.
Oregon Labor
October 25, 2023 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“Today, at the request of Local 555, we are escalating our support for their fight for a fair contract by adding Kaiser Permanente to the Oregon AFL-CIO’s “Unfair Employer List.” The addition of Kaiser to the “Unfair Employer” list is intended to strongly discourage unions from entering into new healthcare agreements or renewing existing agreements until Local 555 members ratify a new contract. Adding Kaiser to the list does not mean we are asking patients to avoid getting the healthcare they need.”
October 25, 2023 | Daily Emerald
“The University of Oregon Student Workers have been rallying to gain union certification since Oct. 5, 2022. Today, their time has finally come, as they have tallied enough “yes” votes to secure unionization. “
October 26, 2023 | Central Oregon Daily News
“One of Oregon’s largest labor unions wants to reinstate Oregon’s ban on self-serve gas. It’s trying to get the question put on the ballot so voters can decide in November 2024. UFCW Local 555 cited attendant jobs as one of their concerns as to why they want to overturn the law.”
October 24, 2023 | American Federation of Teachers
“More than 1,300 healthcare workers from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash., and PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview, Wash., walked off the job and onto a picket line on Oct. 23. The workers will be on strike for five days. Respiratory therapists, radiology techs and maintenance workers in PeaceHealth’s Tech, Service and Maintenance, and Lab Professional bargaining units are members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Local 5017. They are demanding improved patient staffing, living wages and a fair contract.”
October 22, 2023 | ABC 6 Action News
“Teachers in Portland, Oregon, have voted to go on strike, their union announced Friday, in another sign of a growing national organized labor movement that's seen thousands of workers in various sectors walk off the job this year. The Portland Association of Teachers' strike would start Nov. 1 unless an agreement with the school district is reached before then.”
October 20, 2023 | KGW
Kaiser Permanente imaging workers will join pharmacy technicians in a strike protesting "unfair labor practices" beginning in November. Last week, Kaiser Permanente had reached a breakthrough in negotiations with the 75,000 workers who staged a three-day strike across Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Virginia and Washington D.C. However, the tentative deal did not cover a separate group of Oregon and Southeast Washington pharmacy technicians who are undertaking their own strike.
UAW Tentative Agreement with Ford
October 25, 2023 | CNBC
“We told Ford to pony up and they did. We won things nobody thought was possible,” UAW President Shawn Fain said during a video posted online Wednesday night. He said the value of Ford’s offer increased by 50% compared to when the targeted, or “stand-up,” strikes began Sept. 15.”
Strikes
October 25, 2023 | The Hollywood Reporter
“Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios have been rescheduled for Thursday after the performers’ union decided to take more time to offer responses to the companies’ latest proposals. Thursday’s face-to-face gathering will see SAG-AFTRA responding to the companies’ offers after what sources describe as a lackluster return to negotiations on Tuesday.”
October 25, 2023 | ABC 7 Eyewitness News
“Striking hotel workers and their supporters, numbering in the thousands, marched through downtown Los Angeles Wednesday in the union's largest single-day labor action since rotating work stoppages began in early July. “
October 24, 2023 | NBC Philadelphia
“The largest union that represents SEPTA workers -- Transit Workers Union Local 234 -- has authorized a strike if a contract deal can't be reached by the end of October. And, in a statement released Monday, TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt warned that talks -- that began this week -- are "going nowhere fast."
October 23, 2023 | WABI
“The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), has filed additional Unfair Labor Practice Charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Woodland Pulp.”
October 22, 2023 | WTOL
“Dropkick Murphys visited Toledo Jeep workers to show support for the UAW strike.”
Building Power
October 24, 2023 | The Guardian
Call it the Great Reset. Across the US, labor unions are winning surprisingly large contract settlements as workers have reset their expectations to demand considerably more than they did just a few years ago, and that has in turn pressured many corporations to reset – and increase – the pay packages they are giving in union contracts.
National Politics
October 25, 2023 | Representative Adam Schiff
“Today, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), introduced the Empowering Striking Workers Act, new legislation that would ensure workers exercising their legal right to collectively bargain, as well as workers directly impacted, are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits after 14 days of striking.”
Transportation
October 23, 2023 | Trains.com
“The Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen and Norfolk Southern will create a new program, the Signal Safety Collaboration — including joint inspections, information sharing, and training — to address signal safety, the two parties announced last week. The one-year pilot program was developed with input from the Federal Railroad Administration.”
Buy Union
October 15, 2023 | Labor 411
“Tires are one of the most important car components. They serve as the sole connection between the road and an automobile. A quality tire often means a better and safer driving experience. And union-made tires are some of the best in the business.”
Labor History
October 25, 2023 | Smithsonian Magazine
“Until recently, a bronze plaque was the only marker indicating that the building at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place was the site of New York City’s deadliest workplace disaster prior to the 9/11 attacks. On March 25, 1911, 146 workers—mostly young women, many of whom were immigrants—died when a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.”
