Oregon AFL-CIO Statement on UI for Striking Workers Legislative Hearing

Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor has issued the following statement in response to the Oregon State Senate Committee On Labor and Business’s public hearing on SB 916 which would extend Unemployment Insurance benefits to striking workers. 

No worker should be forced into financial hardship for standing up for their rights legally on a picket line.  Right now, employers always have the upper hand during contract negotiations because they can stop wages and benefits during strikes, while getting paid themselves. That gives them the power to drag strikes out, refusing to come to the table to negotiate on workplace safety, wages and benefits, hoping to starve out the workers. 

SB 916 will allow workers to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head, keep their kids in childcare, and pay for health care and other lost benefits while negotiating for fair contracts. Workers have to be pushed to the breaking point to vote to strike and it isn’t taken lightly.

This is a common sense and fair bill that will help to level the playing field with minimal to no impact nor costs for employers. The Economic Policy Institute recently published an analysis of the bill - and similar bills around the country - and showed that if workers in strikes longer than 7 days had had access to UI income during the past four years, it would cost less than 1% of the total Unemployment Insurance expenditures, which will have no effect on insurance rates. 

This policy ensures a fairer system for workers, supports local economies by allowing families to stay afloat during a strike, and encourages more productive negotiations with employers. Workers don’t strike by choice—they strike out of necessity, whether for economic security, workplace safety, or the well-being of their communities.  

When workers fight for fair contracts, they’re fighting for everyone because strong union agreements uplift entire communities, setting higher standards that benefit our economy and improve the quality of life in our city and state.

The Oregon AFL-CIO and our membership of 300,000 working Oregonians encourage every Oregon legislator to stand with workers and support local economies by taking action to extend Unemployment Insurance benefits to striking workers.