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
☕ TODAY: Starbucks Workers Solidarity Day of Action
Today, Thursday September 14 | Locations nationwide
In the face of Starbucks' attempts to crush the union, Starbucks workers have organized, gone on strike, and pressured the company to quit union busting. Now it's time for Starbucks customers and allies to demand that Starbucks respects workers' right to organize. Meet outside the store with signs and petitions to engage customers and passersby in support of Starbucks workers. Many times, locations. Find events here!
⚕️ TOMORROW: Save Eugene’s Hospital Community Forum
Tomorrow: Friday, September 15, 2023 | 160 Madison Street in Eugene
All are welcome! Join local health care workers, elected leaders and residents for a community-wide forum on the wide-ranging impact closing University District will have on local families, students, seniors and vulnerable populations. Get your questions answered and find out how you can help keep health care local and save Eugene's only hospital. Click here to learn more and get involved in the campaign.
🏥 OHSU Nurses: Ready to Bargain! Ready to Strike!
Monday, September 18 | 11:30am - 2:00pm OHSU Waterfront, Elizabeth Caruthers Park, 3508 S Moody Ave in Portland
Join OHSU Nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association rallying with fellow nurses, the Oregon Labor Movement, and community allies to demand a contract that nurses and their patients deserve! Click here to RSVP.
✊Rally to Support Central Oregon Workers
Saturday, September 23 at 4:00pm | Drake Park: 777 NW Riverside Blvd In Bend
Join the delegates and guests of the 2023 Oregon AFL-CIO Convention at a rally and march in downtown Bend in support of Central Oregon workers including healthcare workers, classified education workers, teachers, and striking SAG-AFTRA members!
Take Action
🎓Support PSU Adjuncts!
Over 1,000 adjunct faculty are employed at Portland State University. Faculty have endured years of inequitable and degrading working conditions and wages that have not kept pace with the cost of living. PSUFA asks for your signature on the “Community Letter of Solidarity” and your support as faculty advocate for themselves and their students. Click here to read and sign the letter.
Oregon Labor
September 14, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
From Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor: “With historic opportunities before us, and young people doubling down in their support for and understanding that our movement is the greatest force for taking on corporate greed and making our economy more fair and just, this is our moment to harness. Are you ready? See you on the picket line!”
September 14, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Union health care workers, local officials, and community members in Eugene launched a campaign this month to save the city’s only hospital and emergency room.”
September 14, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Workers at Guardian Games in Portland voted 10-0 to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 in a Sept. 1 vote held in the employee break room. Guardian Games is a board game and trading card shop on 345 SE Taylor St. It includes a bar and table space where customers can play games. It is owned by Bourke Retail, a limited liability corporation that also runs games shops in Corvallis and Aloha.”
September 8, 2023 | Willamette Week
“The strippers at Northwest Portland’s Magic Tavern have unanimously voted to unionize with Actors’ Equity Association, making it the second unionized strip club in the country. “I’m over the moon,” says Daphne, a Magic Tavern stripper who helped lead the club’s unionization efforts. “There’s no feeling like hearing, ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ 16 times as they counted the votes.” After Equity certifies the election, it will begin the bargaining process on behalf of the strippers. Equity also represents Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, Calif., which voted to unionize in May.”
Oregon Healthcare Strikes
September 14, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Union nurses at Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU) began a strike vote Sept. 6 following nearly nine months of negotiations with the hospital’s leaders. If it passes, the vote would allow union leaders to call for an open-ended strike of almost 3,200 nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). Nurses have been working without a contract since their previous agreement expired June 31. On Aug. 9, they declared an impasse and entered a 30-day cooling off period.”
September 14, 2023 | Northwest Labor Press
“Workers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in seven states and Washington D.C. participated in a nationwide strike authorization vote Aug. 28 through Sept. 16. SEIU Local 49, which represents about 4,500 technicians and hospital support staff at Kaiser facilities in Oregon, tallied its members’ votes on Sept. 13, after this issue went to press. SEIU Local 105, a union representing 3,000 Kaiser workers in Colorado, passed its strike vote with 99% approval. Other results were not available by press time."
The Union Difference
September 8, 2023 | Word in Black
“The union movement is the equalizer,” Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, says. The AFL-CIO represents 12.5 million workers internationally. “The fact of the matter is that the Black middle class was essentially built by the labor movement,” Redmond says. “What we see is that people are fed up, including Black workers, by not being able to share in the wealth they help create on these jobs every day.”
UAW Strike
September 13, 2023 | Kokomo Tribune
“We’ve got to make sure that transition is just,” said Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana State AFL-CIO. “We got to make sure those jobs are for our people.”
September 13, 2023 | Reuters
“AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told Reuters autoworkers do not want to go on strike "but they will if they have to in order to reach a fair deal." Shuler noted there have been over 200 strikes this year in the United States. "It's because the economy is broken. Workers are fed up," she said.”
Hollywood Strikes
September 13, 2023 | CBS Los Angeles
“Striking members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union gathered at Netflix Studios Wednesday morning and are marching to Paramount. The SAG-AFTRA National board voted unanimously to call a strike following the conclusion of the TV/Theatrical/Streaming negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). According to the release, they are fighting to ensure its members receive their fair share of streaming revenues, increased compensation to keep pace with inflation, and an agreement that will give actors informed consent and fair pay if A.I. is used to create digital replicas of their performance, voice, or likeness.”
September 11, 2023
“The unions representing Hollywood’s striking screenwriters and actors remain miles apart from the big studios on key issues, meaning that the majority of entertainment productions are still on hold and most rank-and-file members remain out of work.”
Labor & Technology
September 13, 2023 | WESA
“Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler argued that workers must be central to AI policy. "Public support for unions is at near record highs because workers are tired of being guinea pigs in an AI live experiment," Shuler said in a statement. "The labor movement knows AI can empower workers and increase prosperity – but only if workers are centered in its creation and the rules that govern it.”
September 12, 2023 | Time
“Amanda Ballantyne, the director of the AFL-CIO Technology Institute, argues that there’s one key reason worker voice should drive technology adoption: “We think of workers as experts in technology because they’re the end users.” That on-the-ground experience gives them valuable knowledge about which tools make their jobs better and which just waste their time, she explains. It’s a sentiment echoed by University of Pennsylvania professor Ethan Mollick in a recent essay: “The innovation groups and strategy councils inside organizations can dictate policy, but they can’t figure out how to use AI to actually get work, only the workers, experts at their own jobs, know that,” he writes.”
Organizing
September 13, 2023 | The Hollywood Reporter
“It’s official: In a unanimous vote, the visual effects employees at Marvel Studios voted to unionize with IATSE in a closely watched election held by the National Labor Relations Board. The vote marks the first time a unit of solely VFX workers has unionized with IATSE. Voting closed on Monday after the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Disney/Marvel reached a stipulated election agreement last month. According to today’s announcement from IATSE, there was a “high turnout” from the roughly 50 Marvel employees, which includes jobs such as VFX coordinators and data wranglers.”
Graphics to Share
