Posts tagged Oregon
‘Profound impact’: Portland city workers on strike outside City Hall
November 10, 2026 // The union represents workers across every city bureau and office, including administrative specialists, financial analysts, and technology business representatives. Many are on-call to help victims of serious crimes like human trafficking and provide support to 911 and the emergency response system. “Because I’m not at work, and some of my colleagues are not at work, there’s $17 million of invoices that need to be processed around community organizations that do essential work in the community. Those dollars are not going out to our community right now, because we’re out here instead of working,” said Izamar Herrera, who is a project manager for the Portland Clean Energy Fund.
Commentary: Democrats swept Nevada. Now protect all workers.
November 10, 2026 // Corporate opponents will undoubtedly argue that mandatory benefit contributions raise hiring costs, which is accurate. Businesses frequently utilize contract labor specifically to lower payroll overhead by omitting benefit contributions. That cost savings comes directly at the expense of freelancer security, and closing that loophole is precisely the goal. Critics may also push to make benefit contributions voluntary. Nevada has already considered this approach: a voluntary portable benefits bill sponsored by Republican Senator Lori Rogich passed the Senate in 2025 before expiring at the end of the session. That proposal left employer contributions optional and allowed businesses to deduct contribution costs directly from freelancer pay upon written consent. Similar voluntary frameworks exist in Louisiana and Utah.
New York, Oregon laws could make the Supreme Court defend its Janus ruling
November 6, 2026 // Oregon and New York recently enacted remarkably similar laws. On their face, they claim their intention is to prevent organizations from fraudulently impersonating labor unions, which sounds reasonable enough. Fraud is already illegal, and nobody has a constitutional right to deceive workers. But these laws actually have a much more specific target: The Freedom Foundation, my own national watchdog organization, whose mission is to inform government employees of their right to decline union membership and dues — and when necessary, to help them exercise it, since unions often make it as difficult as they can.
Teachers Unions Back School Funding Measures, Governor Candidates in Midterms
November 2, 2026 // Locals from New York to California are focusing on statewide races, while national union targets Senate seats in battleground states.
Unearthed filing shows largest teachers unions poured over $900 million into political activities
October 28, 2026 // According to an investigation by the North American Values Institute (NAVI), a nonprofit watchdog that tracks ideological activism in education, the National Education Association (NEA) spent at least $547 million on political activity and advocacy between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. That total includes $458.9 million filed officially as political activity and lobbying, along with an additional $88.2 million in direct funding to progressive advocacy organizations. To finance its political activities, "NEA delegates approved a $10 dues increase for a ballot-measure and media fund projected to generate more than $20 million annually," the report stated. With more than 3 million members, the NEA is the largest teachers' union in the country.
Union watchmen authorize strike at LA-Long Beach ports
October 28, 2026 // Although ILWU Local 26 accounts for only 2 percent of the union's total workforce at the two ports, the association said the terminals where its members work handle more than half of the cargo moving through the San Pedro Bay complex. The potentially impacted terminals handle roughly 85 percent of Long Beach's cargo and 33 percent of freight at the Port of Los Angeles, the PMA said. A watchmen strike could halt vessel, yard and gate operations at the affected terminals at both ports.
More than 800 city of Portland workers poised to strike
October 21, 2026 // The union represents 800 city workers in largely behind-the-scenes positions, ranging from financial analysts to multimedia specialists to technology staff. CPPW was formed in 2023 and adopted its first two–year contract last year. Its members are currently negotiating over wage increases and layoff protections — a piece of that original contract that both parties had agreed to renegotiate this year. The city has said its final offer for CPPW includes about $9.1 million in new spending, while the union’s would require approximately $19.8 million over the same period.
What is New York hiding? How teachers unions are rigging school rankings
October 12, 2026 // Success Academy has now sued New York Education Commissioner Betty Rosa in federal court, arguing the state’s decision improperly prevents the charter network from communicating independently verified information about its students’ performance. But the controversy raises a broader question extending beyond one charter network or one magazine’s rankings: Why shouldn’t state residents have a right to see objective data about the schools their tax dollars are paying for?
Oregon’s 7 public universities, union reach tentative agreement on new contract
September 28, 2026 // A strike set to impact all seven of Oregon’s public universities has been cancelled after the schools and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reached a tentative agreement overnight.
First Starbucks in Oregon to unionize is being shuttered
September 27, 2026 // A Starbucks representative told KLCC that the Willamette Street store will close on Saturday, Sept. 26. She said the closure wasn’t retaliatory for unionizing, but was instead based on “an objective evaluation” of customer experience and financial performance as outlined in a letter sent by Mike Grams, Starbucks’ chief operating officer. “We’re accelerating our pace toward completing 1,500 coffeehouse uplifts, and Green Apron Service has become our defining standard,” Gram’s letter states. “Our Back to Starbucks strategy is working