Stay Union strong
Category: Dan & Jeff
When we asked our Unity Negotiation Team members what was most unexpected about the bargaining process so far, there were two responses that recurred very frequently. One was surprise at the lack of interest that the employers showed in the lives of our members. Having this catch some folks unaware makes sense to me because we are all likely to … Read more
Whether or not you have much of an interest in politics, chances are good that you’ve heard at least some murmurs about how active the upcoming November midterm elections are likely to be. With tempers running hot on both sides of the aisle—and with so much at stake—this may well turn out to be one of the very rare midterm … Read more
July of this year saw the beginning of the implementation of Oregon’s Fair Work Week/Fair Scheduling law: a huge step in the right direction for hourly workers across the state! Just like any big change, though, there will be questions on the part of both the employer and the worker while the details of the law get sorted out. The … Read more
June 27th finally saw the long-awaited Supreme Court decision on Janus v. AFSCME. The decision was as expected: 5-4 in a blow against public sector unions. This decision essentially overturned the 1977 case (Abood v. Detroit Board of Education) which had been decided unanimously (9-0). Now, with the current court, the decision indicates that it is unconstitutional to allow public … Read more
Oregon’s Fair Scheduling law (otherwise known as the Fair Work Week law) is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2018. It was written, fought for, passed, and signed into law so that we, as working Oregonians, will be better able to plan our working lives so that we can better live the rest of our lives. All but one … Read more
Have you heard of The Poor People’s Campaign? To quote, the PPC is “a national call for moral revival, uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation’s distorted morality.” This campaign is a revitalization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s unfinished vision in … Read more
Oregon’s primary election in May was an impressive demonstration in how much our voices matter in making decisions that will affect the many. 33% of registered Oregon voters submitted a ballot in the May 15th election: noticeably up from a worrisome 19% just one day before the election, but still slightly lower than the last comparable election (May of 2014, … Read more
I may sound like a broken record when I remind you to vote but we all know that voter turnout isn’t what it should be, even on our best days. Midterm elections (which is what we’re seeing in 2018) suffer even more than years in which there is a presidential election, and primaries tend to see even lower turnout. This … Read more
The 2018 Unity Negotiation process has begun. This summer’s negotiations will be a pivotal time for approximately 18,000 of our 25,000 members which include all those covered by Unity Negotiations in grocery, CCK, non-food, and meat contracts. We’ll keep you updated on how you can help support and what actions we’ll need you to take. Right now, that action is … Read more