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
Oregon Labor Pride 2024
Join Oregon's Labor Movement for the Portland Pride Parade on July 21, as we march in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ siblings and demonstrate our commitment to defending the rights of all Oregon Workers. With legislatures across the country passing anti-trans bills and laws hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, it's more important than ever that Oregon Labor shows our unwavering support as allies.
And please visit the Labor Movement's booth at the Pride Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, where we will be talking to attendees about the union difference.
For more information and to join us in the parade click here.
Take Action Now
Tell lawmakers: Fewer cuts, more real solutions
We know that schools, hospitals and communities need funding and resources to create real solutions for a better life. But once again, extremists in Congress are proposing draconian cuts to slash funding for the people who need it most. Tell your representative to oppose cuts to Title I and other vital programs in the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill.
Must Read
July 17, 2024 | Oregon AFL-CIO
“Dozens of Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) workers and supporters rallied on Tuesday to demand the semiconductor company’s influx of public CHIPS Act funding translate into safer working conditions and family-sustaining jobs for workers at its facilities. As the company applies for federal CHIPS and Science Act funding on top of the $12 million it just received from the Oregon CHIPS Act, semiconductor workers at its Beaverton factory are raising alarming safety concerns stemming from recent incidents at the factory, and exposing a pattern of employee turnover fueled by low wages.”
July 13, 2024 | AFL-CIO
“A foundation of American democracy—and of the labor movement—is peaceful disagreement and debate. While we await all the details on today’s troubling incident at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania, all Americans must be absolutely clear: violence has no place in our political process. Ever. This is a moment where people of all backgrounds and ideologies must stand together to once again condemn violence of any kind in our politics.”
Pacific Northwest Labor
July 18, 2024 | The Stand
“The 2024 Constitutional Convention convened in Wenatchee on Tuesday, July 16, bringing together union members representing the hundreds of unions that make up the WSLC, and more than half a million union workers state-wide. Under the theme of “Reclaiming Worker Power and Energizing our Movement,” delegates heard from speakers, listened to expert panels, participated in workshops, and fostered solidarity and fellowship with fellow union activists.“
July 17, 2024 | Reuters
“Boeing's Washington state factory workers voted by more than 99% in favor of a strike mandate, their union said on Wednesday evening, as they seek a 40% raise in their first full negotiation with the planemaker in 16 years. Union local president Jon Holden of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said bad decisions made at the executive level of Boeing are putting workers' livelihoods at risk.“
July 17, 2024 | KOIN
“Semiconductor workers held a rally on Tuesday demanding safer working conditions, fair wages, and job security as their Beaverton factory vies for federal CHIPS Act funding. During the rally, more than a dozen employees from Analog Devices Inc. called on the company to use its public funds to usher in improved working conditions as ADI applies for federal CHIPS Act funds, which are meant to bolster the nation’s semiconductor industry. The company was also awarded $12 million from the Oregon CHIPS Act, according to Analog Devices Workers United.”
July 15, 2024 | The Stand
“In states like Idaho with extreme abortion bans, we are seeing health care providers closing their doors and shutting down their practices, new doctors staying away, and fewer options for patients to get a whole range of necessary health care services,” said Senator Patty Murray. “The consequences of the Dobbs decision extend far beyond abortion—and they are putting a severe strain on health care systems everywhere, including in Washington state.” Healthcare workers in Washington and elsewhere have been sounding the alarm on dangerous short staffing across the profession. As more patients travel to Washington for care, the stress on our understaffed system continues to grow.”
June 12, 2024 | The Violin Channel
“The board of directors at the Eugene Symphony has ratified a new three-year contract with its 82 players. The contract includes pay rises and provision to begin hiring for vacant positions, and takes the orchestra through to 2027. By the end of the contract, players will have received annual raises totaling 10.5%. At present, 18 chairs in the orchestra are vacant, and hiring processes to fill those jobs will begin immediately. The contract also makes provision for greater flexibility, allowing smaller groups of players to perform concerts in the community.”
July 11, 2024 | The Salem Reporter
The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved a two-year, $19.7 million contract for the union covering most of its employees. The roughly 900 employees represented by the Marion County Employee Association will see raises of 4% this year and 3% next year. That union includes many different types of county employees including those who maintain county roads, provide addiction treatment, custodial services and medical billing services.”
July 11, 2024 | The Lund Report
“Postdoctoral researchers trying to negotiate their first union contract at Oregon Health & Science University have declared an impasse, sparking a requirement that both sides submit their final best offers — which can be prelude to a notice of strike. The situation is significant since it comes during a surge of union activity at OHSU, a research powerhouse and teaching hospital. Meanwhile, leadership of the public agency seeks to cut costs, including through layoffs, while also effectively purchasing Legacy Health and expanding hospital capacity.”
July 11, 2024 | Bloomberg Law
“Starbucks Corp. lost its attempt to persuade the National Labor Relations Board to hold a vote on a barista’s petition to eject the Starbucks Workers United union from representing workers at a café in Portland, Ore. Starbucks’ request for the board to reconsider a regional director’s dismissal of barista Alexandra Wood’s decertification petition raised “no substantial issues warranting review,” a divided NLRB panel said in a one-sentence order Thursday.”
Politics
July 17, 2024 | CNN
“A Trump–Vance White House is a corporate CEO’s dream and a worker’s nightmare,“ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement Monday. “Sen. JD Vance likes to play union supporter on the picket line, but his record proves that to be a sham.” Vance’s short voting record — he’s been in the Senate just shy of two years — doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence among labor advocates. He voted against Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which directed hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to American manufacturers. According to the AFL-CIO, the nation’s biggest union federation that represents some 12.5 million workers, Vance has introduced legislation that would allow bosses to bypass their workers’ unions, and opposed legislation that would make it easier for workers to form unions.”
July 16, 2024 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“AFL-CIO president Liz Schuler highlighted workers’ rights, which she said could be decimated under another four years of Trump. “If you're a working person out there, and you're considering this question of who do I vote for, I think you should ask yourself, 'Does this Project 2025 agenda make my life better if it were to become law,'” Shuler asked. “Will my life be better when Trump lets my company force me to work overtime without overtime pay.”
July 16, 2024 | HuffPost
“Things have been looking up for the labor movement these days. More workers are trying to unionize their workplaces. Employees have been going on strike in numbers not seen in years. And unions have been notching some major organizing breakthroughs, including in the anti-union South. So what could undermine this hopeful moment for organized labor as it tries to rebuild after decades of decline? Another Donald Trump presidency.”
July 16, 2024 | The Washington Post
“Through a spokesperson, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to O’Brien’s speech: “President O’Brien rightfully criticized corporate greed and called out tactics corporations use to intimidate workers from forming unions. The problem is that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are on the bosses’ side, not the workers… Trump would love workers to take him at his word and forget what he actually did as president, but we haven’t forgotten.”
July 11, 2024 | The Hill
“The Biden administration will dole out $1.7 billion to automotive companies to bolster their efforts to manufacture electric cars, trucks and motorcycles. The funds, which will cover 11 projects, are expected to help companies transition their facilities to electric vehicle manufacturing or to help them expand existing electric vehicle operations.”
July 11, 2024 | The Washington Post
“The AFL-CIO for the second time in a week put out a statement in support of President Joe Biden after unanimously voting to reaffirm their support for the Biden-Harris ticket, saying that they are the "most pro-union administration in our lifetimes." The union, which endorsed the Biden-Harris campaign in June 2023, urged Democrats to support Biden saying, "The labor movement is united behind President Biden and Vice President Harris. We urge his party and the American people to join us.”
Organizing
July 17, 2024 | Reuters
“Unions are filing petitions to hold elections and winning them at rates not seen in decades, according to data released by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, likely a reflection of the agency's adoption of policies favored by unions during the Biden administration. The board in a release said it has already received more than 2,600 union election petitions during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, surpassing the total for the full previous fiscal year. NLRB regional offices have seen a 32% increase in the number of petitions filed compared with this time last year, the agency said.”
July 16, 2024 | CBS News
“Support for organized labor is at a high not seen since the 1960s, with 71% of Americans saying they approve of unions, according to Gallup. Among members of Generation Z, unions have a 64.3% approval rating, according to the Center for American Progress.”
July 16, 2024 | Economic Policy Institute
“Americans’ approval of unions and willingness to vote for them at their workplaces have increased although union membership has continued to drop in recent years. Even more remarkable than the growth of union support has been the decline of outright opposition to unions and the rise of the “union curious.” A large generational divide that was not apparent even a few years ago is emerging. Workers 30 and under are far more likely than older workers to report both support for and uncertainty about unionization.”
July 16, 2024 | In These Times
“Despite the corporate efforts to maintain an exploitable underclass, the labor movement is expanding protections to immigrants and guest workers, in part, as a matter of strategy, considering that almost one in five workers in the country (18.6%) is not a U.S. citizen. The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), associated with the AFL-CIO, has organized thousands of H-2A workers across North Carolina, similar to what the United Farm Workers (UFW) has done in California and recently in New York, where undocumented and H-2A laborers are pressing for union contracts.”
Workplace Safety
July 17, 2024 | The Nation
“On July 2, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a new rule that would protect more than 36 million workers from heat-related illnesses and deaths. Regulations included employers’ responsibility to designate rest time, provide adequate water, and monitor heat-induced symptoms. The rule, “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” includes stipulations once the temperature hits the 80-degree or 90-degree mark. “Heat is the leading cause of death among all hazardous weather conditions in the United States,” wrote OSHA. “This is a significant step toward a federal heat standard to protect workers."
July 15, 2024 | Safety + Health Magazine
“A legislative attempt to block federal enforcement of a rule intended to protect miners from exposure to silica is “morally reprehensible,” United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts says. The provision is included in the House Appropriation Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill – released June 26. The bill was approved with a 31-25 vote during a July 10 markup and advanced to the House floor. The Mine Safety and Health Administration final rule, published April 18 and in effect since June 17, lowers the permissible exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an 8-hour-time weighted average. That’s half the previous limit and matches the PEL OSHA established in 2016."
Collective Bargaining
July 17, 2024 | People’s World
“The American Postal Workers Union – fresh out of discussion, debate, and workshops at their 27th Biennial National Convention here – held a rally to build support for their new contract fight with the U.S. Postal Service. Bargaining talks between the union and management opened June 25. During the convention, which was attended by 2,100 delegates, APWU President Mark Dimondstein condemned recent assaults by corporations and reactionary politicians on workers’ and women’s rights. He slammed the bigotry and voter suppression of multiple recent Supreme Court rulings that set back democratic rights."
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