This week is a flashpoint for Oregon Labor, with a potential strike at OHSU in Portland and a picket at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
When we stand together and take an active role in supporting unions’ strikes and contract fights, we have a better chance at making a real difference and creating lasting change for working people. Here’s what you need to know and how to get involved:
OHSU STRIKE
Unless OHSU comes to the table with a fair contract for Postdoc Workers United at OHSU who are represented by Oregon AFSCME, over 250 workers will walk out on strike on Thursday, August 15, 2024. The postdoctoral researchers are a vital part of OHSU’s mission and their work includes researching cures for deadly diseases, including cancer. As Postdoc Workers United have said at rallies and on picket signs and banners, the cure WILL be union made. This strike is not unprecedented: Postdoc workers at the University of Washington, Mount Sinai, and Columbia University have all gone on strike and won significant pay increases, housing stipends, and childcare benefits by doing so.
▶️ Get involved: Click here to sign up for a picket line shift and click here to make a donation to the strike fund. Walk the line with OHSU Postdocs starting Thursday, August 15th from 9am-5pm. Elizabeth Caruthers Park will serve as the main strike line outside of OHSU’s Center for Health and Healing Building 2, 3508 S Moody Ave, Portland, OR 97239.
PICKET AT ST. CHARLES
On the same day in Central Oregon, over 150 Technical employees at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend will be walking the picket line to demand that management agree to common sense proposals that will help secure safe staffing and living wages for healthcare workers. These healthcare professionals, who are members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), AFT Local 5017, have been in negotiations over their next union contract for months. These are workers who are employed in high-skilled, essential healthcare positions and deserve dignity and respect on the job.
▶️ Get involved: Walk the line with OFNHP members in Bend on Thursday, August 15 from 4:00 - 7:00pm at 2500 NE Neff Road, Bend, 97701 to demand living wages, safe staffing, and a fair contract.
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