Posts tagged Oregon
Commentary: Unions Are Shrinking Nationwide—But Not in California
September 3, 2025 // California, though, is noteworthy for its steady union presence. It hasn’t fluctuated much since 2005, despite the national decline. Further, the federal data set used to produce the union figures does not include home health care and child care workers who are classified as self-employed. In California, that takes in some 700,000 workers, even though their hourly wages are negotiated with individual counties through unions.
Labor unions are much stronger in Oregon than nationally
September 2, 2025 // Nearly 300,000 Oregon workers belong to a union, according to federal data, about 1 in 6 workers statewide. Union membership rates have fluctuated since the 1980s but have gradually increased over the past two decades.
Evergreen school employees strike as districts across the Northwest start heading back to class
August 27, 2025 // The union is asking for paraeducators to be paid for the full time they are at school, even if students need assistance after classes end. They’re also asking for release time to do union work, among other benefits. Union representatives said the district has so far been inflexible with their requests as well as bargaining dates.
Trump Just Saved Thousands of Disabled Americans’ Jobs
August 5, 2025 // Disability-rights advocates have long insisted that, as a matter of public policy, disabled people’s lives should resemble those of nondisabled people to the greatest extent possible. They have argued, for example, that “segregated” environments, which primarily or exclusively serve disabled people, violate the principle of normalization and ought to be abolished. And for decades, they have called for the repeal of Section 14(c), a provision of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 that allows certified employers to pay disabled workers a subminimum wage commensurate with their productivity. Congress created the 14(c) program to enable people with severe disabilities to remain in the job market after the passage of the federal minimum wage. The Biden administration published a proposed rule in 2024 that would have phased out the program, claiming that it was “no longer necessary to prevent curtailment of employment opportunities.” But last month, the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing the proposal. In doing so, it preserved the jobs of thousands of severely disabled Americans who would have lost one of the staples of a “normal” life.
Lower courts ignore Supreme Court precedent to force union payments
August 2, 2025 // The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to answer that question. In an amicus brief filed July 24, the two organizations ask the Court to reaffirm and enforce the constitutional standard it set in the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision: that no money may be taken from a public employee’s paycheck for a union without the employee’s clear and affirmative consent. The brief supports two public workers who are respectively suing the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees as well as the International Union of Operating Engineers. Marcus Todd and Terry Klee
Workers striking by choice could lose unemployment benefits in blue states under GOP proposal
July 20, 2025 // Legislation targets policies in Oregon, Washington, New York and New Jersey that provide financial support during strikes The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla.; Mike Kelly, R-Pa.; Blake Moore, R-Utah; Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas; Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.; and Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas. The governors of both Oregon and Washington signed laws earlier this year allowing for striking workers to receive unemployment benefits.
Op-ed: She looked like a pro-worker Trump cabinet appointee. But now she’s gutting the Labor Department
July 17, 2025 // The standards on the chopping block include those issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a unit of the Labor Department, that were developed after years of effort. OSHA standards, Reindel told me, take an average of seven years — and as long as 20 years — to draft. “This is an onslaught on people’s basic protections at work.”
Gig Drivers Unionize Without Employee Status Under State Plans
July 17, 2025 // Unlike in California, Lyft and Uber remained publicly neutral on the Massachusetts ballot measure and Uber recently vowed to do the same in Illinois. For the companies, the bargaining schemes have the benefit of keeping drivers classified as independent contractors. “As we’ve said for years, we’re willing to work with state legislators on benefit and protection legislation that prioritizes preserving drivers’ independence and flexibility,” said Uber spokesperson Josh Gold.
Portland hospital workers vote to organize, join service employees union
July 9, 2025 // More than 1,100 caregivers at Portland's Providence St. Vincent Medical Center have voted to unionize, joining the Service Employees International Union Local 49. Hospital staffers, including certified nursing assistants, cooks, lab assistants, pharmacy techs, environmental workers and patient representatives, will soon begin collective bargaining with management over a new work contract.
Jewish teacher suing Portland teachers union over alleged antisemitic curriculum
June 10, 2025 // “He remains anonymous because what happened to him was so horrifying and caused him so much PTSD that he doesn't want to come out with his name,” said Freedom Foundation Litigation Counsel Shella Alcabes. “He's scared of the kind of retribution he's going to get.” Alcabes told The Center Square, their client, a high school math teacher-opted out of paying union dues to PAT, but is still required to be represented by the association in collective bargaining negotiations with his employer. “He worked for one school where he was bullied and harassed. He eventually was able to move to another school, but that doesn't change that PAT still represents him,”