Posts tagged Senate Bill 916
Murmurs: PCC Spent $260,000 on Unemployment Benefits During Strike
May 26, 2026 // Senate Bill 916, which allows striking workers to access unemployment insurance during their time on the picket line, made Oregon the first state in the nation to require public employers to pay such benefits. Now we know how much that cost PCC. James Hill, a spokesman for the college, says it estimates it will incur about $260,000 in unemployment claims associated with the strike. (The average striking worker may claim unemployment starting in the third week of a strike, the same week the faculty union’s strike was resolved at PCC.) That number is significantly lower than the $1.45 million the college estimated it might have to pay each week, if all striking workers had filed claims. Public employers, often known as “reimbursing” employers, don’t opt to pay unemployment contributions to the state on a regular basis. Instead, such employers often reimburse the state dollar for dollar, which drove many public agencies to warn that the legislation would financially drain them. And while the state can relieve public employers of costs if they negotiate back pay agreements, PCC opted not to. The strikes at PCC were the first at a community college in Oregon’s history, and may have had broader implications for the institution. PCC president Adrien Bennings voluntarily separated from the college on May 14. The college’s board of trustees voted 6–1 to approve a $261,000 severance package—$1,000 more than it spent on striking workers—among other perks.
One of Oregon’s Most Powerful Unions Is Rebelling Against Democrats
April 23, 2026 // Although many donors contribute to individual candidates, OEA sends most of its legislative contributions to caucus leaders, who distribute the cash to candidates in tight races. That ensures maximum influence with leaders, who in turn decide which bills get hearings and who gets committee chairmanships. (A 2012 study by the Fordham Institute ranked OEA the second-most powerful teachers union in the country—only the Illinois teachers union ranked higher.) In addition to large and steady contributions, OEA also developed a reputation for punishing Democrats who failed to fall in line, as Sollman is now learning. One infamous example still echoes nearly two decades later.
State Sen. Janeen Sollman Says Two Prominent Unions Resorted to ‘Bullying and Intimidation’
April 7, 2026 // Those unions hope to unseat Sollman in May after clashing with her over expanding the urban growth boundary in Hillsboro, education funding, and her vote against Senate Bill 916, the controversial bill that now allows striking workers to collect unemployment pay.
Lawmakers Will Consider Unemployment Benefits for Striking Workers
February 3, 2025 // Senate Bill 916, written at the request of the AFL-CIO of Oregon, would amend current Oregon law, which deems strikers ineligible for unemployment. The bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing but has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Labor and Business. Given that the committee’s chair, state Sen. Kathleen Taylor (D-Portland), is one of the bill’s chief sponsors, it is highly likely to get an airing. It doesn’t hurt that the labor group that requested the bill, the AFL-CIO, represents 288 unions, which in turn represent more than 300,000 Oregon workers.