Posts tagged Oregon
A measure to help Oregon cannabis workers unionize is headed to November ballot, labor group says
July 11, 2024 // When a bill to enact a very similar law failed in the 2023 legislative session, UFCW announced it would attempt to recall state Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene. Union leaders accused Holvey, who chaired an influential committee, of tanking the bill’s chance of passing. Holvey, often seen as a staunch supporter of unions, has said he was concerned the idea would violate federal labor law, and that he offered UFCW opportunities to make changes. The union spent more than $300,000 on a recall campaign that was defeated overwhelmingly by voters in Holvey’s Eugene district last October. Holvey has since announced he will retire when his term expires in early 2025. In the meantime, UFCW was taking steps to put its idea directly before voters. According to campaign finance records, the union has spent more than $2 million on a statewide signature gathering campaign.
Union votes herald a new era for workers in Washington Legislature
July 11, 2024 // One petition covers 82 legislative assistants, policy analysts and communications staff of the House Democratic Caucus. The other is for 32 legislative assistants in the Senate Democratic Caucus. Both seek to be represented by the Washington Public Employees Association. Under Washington’s law, employees of the Democratic and Republican caucuses in each chamber must be in separate units unless a majority of each caucus votes to be in the same unit. However, units can negotiate collectively on economic issues, like wages and benefits, with the employers, which are the chief clerk of the House and secretary of the Senate. When bargaining begins, several subjects are off-limits, such as the length of the work day during a legislative session, as well as in the 60 calendar days before a session and the 20 days afterward.
Union ‘very surprised’ at jobs affected in OHSU layoffs
July 3, 2024 // These layoffs have been looming for weeks, spurred by an operating loss of $64 million for the fiscal year that ended Sunday. Jennie Olson, who both writes grants and contracts for OHSU and is the president of the AFSCME Local 328 which represents thousands of OHSU workers, told KOIN 6 News the number of layoffs could potentially rise to 500 members.
Tensions rise as Oregon nurses continue Providence picket
June 24, 2024 // When nurses expressed concerns that they would be turned away from work when they showed up to their shifts on Friday morning, Providence clarified it would notify nurses whether they had been selected to fulfill their shifts via phone calls on Thursday evening. ONA claims doing so is a violation of HB 2697, which “sets minimum safe staffing levels for nurses and allied healthcare workers.” “Providence submitted staffing plans to OHA for approval that were never agreed upon by nurses and were unilaterally adopted by management without the required approval from the nurse staffing committee,” the nurses union said in a public statement. “According to OHA, this action violates Oregon’s staffing law, as ONA-represented nurses have been claiming.
Providence claims nurses union is asking travel nurses to turn down contracts during strike
June 17, 2024 // Hospital leadership is referring to an ONA letter, which calls on "all nurses to stand in solidarity" and to "not accept travel nurse contracts scheduled to start in June or July." Providence announced last week that their facilities would remain open during the strike and that they'd fill those gaps with replacement workers. "The world of replacement nurses, if they feel intimidated or if they're feeling like this isn't a place that they are welcome to come, or safe to come, then it's possible that they wouldn't choose to accept those contracts and that could negatively impact patient care," Gentry said.
Private preschools in Portland abruptly shut down after employees try to unionize
May 3, 2024 // After Tigard teachers announced their intent to unionize in late March and Lloyd teachers prepared to file in early April, the schools were closed April 8. The teachers had thought unionizing both locations at the same time "would offer some protection."
Republican legislative staff move first to unionize under new WA law
May 3, 2024 // Legislative assistants for GOP members of the state House and Senate want the recently formed Legislative Professionals Association to represent them. Petitions on behalf of workers in each chamber were filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission, which will certify the bargaining unit and conduct an election. Legislative assistants want to ensure their concerns are heard in a workplace where they are in the minority, Lund said. The workers don’t want to risk living with a contract they disagree with and have no say in negotiating. Nor do they want to be pulled into a union and see their dues funneled outside the state to a national group.
Salem-Keizer teachers reach tentative agreement on new contract, avoid strike
March 28, 2024 // Still, the district is facing more than a $30 million deficit, Castañeda said. Hundreds of positions will be cut in the coming weeks. “I can tell you that this will be the largest budget cut in over a decade,” Castañeda said. Some parents told KGW that while they're happy a deal was reached, more needs to be done for students and teachers.
OREGON: Salem-Keizer teachers union to take strike vote next week, could strike early April
March 13, 2024 // “If there is a teachers strike, unfortunately, our schools would have to close. We simply cannot keep them open without our licensed staff, and so this means a few things, it’s time for families to start preparing for that possibility. We will not be able to serve students in our buildings,” she said.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS ADVANCE SEIU BILL IN OREGON KNOWING IT WOULD STRIP CAREGIVERS OF THEIR RIGHTS
February 29, 2024 // Specifically, Oregon’s HB 4129 would require the state to contract with up to two private vendors to administer part of the state’s Medicaid-funded homecare program. By doing so, it would create a new employment model governed by private-sector labor law, under which caregivers would lose their protections under the Harris ruling. SEIU 503 is the union purporting to represent Medicaid-compensated homecare workers in Oregon, and it’s has taken a big hit since Harris.