Winning for Workers: 2024 Legislative Session Report

The Oregon Legislature gaveled out of the 2024 Legislative Session on Thursday, March 7 after five weeks of fast-paced action where many of Oregon Labor’s priority bills advanced and are on their way to become law. These victories are a result of the incredible advocacy done by Oregon’s unions and their members to ensure our shared priorities were successful. Together, we are making a considerable difference in the lives of Oregon workers and this past legislative session is further proof that we are on the right course to build even greater power.

Highlights of our victories in Salem include strong labor standards in offshore wind development, funding for a study on the impacts of automation, mechanization, and artificial intelligence, adding over 3,200 public safety workers to PERS, legislation to support all education workers, behavioral health worker safety protections, as well as many other new laws designed to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of Oregon workers.

Here’s a breakdown of the Oregon Labor legislative priorities that passed: 

✅ HB 4080: Offshore Wind - Strong Labor Standards and Roadmap Directive

✅ SB 5701: Study on Workforce Impacts of automation, mechanization and AI

✅ HB 4045: PERS “High Risk” Tier

✅ SB 1552: Supporting All Education Workers 

✅ HB 5204 & HB 4002: Behavioral Health Worker Safety and Investments

✅ HB 4086: Educator Training, Investigations and Safety 

✅ SB 1578: Healthcare Interpreter Portal 

✅ HB 4006: Equity for Construction Workers & Contractors 

✅ SB 5701: Post-Pandemic Funding for the Arts 

✅ SB 5701: Expanding Child Care Capacity for Home-Based Providers, Small Centers, and Rural Areas

✅ SB 1595: Debt Collection Reform

✅ HB 4050: Pay Equity Subversion (opposition) 

While we accomplished a lot during the five-week session, some bills did not move forward and will need to be reintroduced during the next legislative session.  These bills include: 

❎ HB 4077: Incident Reporting Access in Schools

❎ HB 4085: Immigration Legal Assistance 

❎ HB 4088: Addressing Violence Against Healthcare Workers 

❎ HB 4112: Clean Energy Tech Supply Chain 

❎ HB 4125: Adjunct Faculty Trend Study Bill

❎ HB 4130: Protecting Against Corporate Control of Healthcare 

We are proud of all that the Oregon Labor Movement accomplished during the five short weeks of the session. We are so thankful for all of the workers and advocates who have worked tirelessly to pass such an ambitious legislative agenda and look forward to an election cycle of opportunities to elect leaders who will continue to be strong advocates for workers in Oregon.