News & Updates

Oregon Ballot Measure and Legislative Referral Briefing for November 2018 If you are eligible and you have not yet registered to vote in Oregon, please do so by October 16, 2018. This state is an entirely vote-by-mail state. This means that you will need a stamp for your ballot or to drop it at a… Continue reading Your Guide to the 2018 Oregon Ballot Measures

Brenda Barton AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka delivered the following remarks at the Ohio AFL-CIO Convention:  Thank you, Brian (Malloy)! Brother Tim (Burga)…Sister Petee (Talley)…thank you for your leadership and all that you do for working people here in Ohio. Brothers and sisters, I am so grateful for the time and passion that each of you… Continue reading Trumka to Ohio AFL-CIO Convention: “You Can’t Stop All of Us”

STORY HIGHLIGHTS 62% approval of unions roughly matches 2017 level, highest since 2003 Most Democrats approve, while Republicans are evenly split Support for more influence remains at 39%, a post-recession high WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-two percent of Americans approve of labor unions today, which is consistent with the 61% who approved last year and up… Continue reading Gallup: “Labor Union Approval Steady at 15-Year High”

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on changes in union membershipfrom 2016 to 2017. It was good news for workers, as the total number of union members grew by 262,000 in 2017. Three-fourths of these gains (198,000) were among workers aged 34 and under, who account for less than 40 percent of total… Continue reading Economic Policy Institute: “Biggest gains in union membership in 2017 were for younger workers”

Workers at 25 hotels in downtown Chicago went on strike Friday to demand year-round health care as they negotiate new contracts, marking the first time their union has called a citywide hotel strike. UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents more than 15,000 hospitality workers across the Chicago area, said “thousands” of housekeepers, doormen, cooks and… Continue reading Chicago Tribune: “Workers at 25 Chicago hotels go on strike”

The TWU Keeps on ThrivingSpirit Air Customer Service Agents Say “Yes” to the TWU in 82% Vote Fort Lauderdale, FL – Even in the wake of the Janus Supreme Court decision, the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (TWU) continues to flourish. In an overwhelming 82% vote, Customer Service Agents employed by Spirit Airlines chose to form a union under… Continue reading AFL-CIO: “Spirit Air Customer Service Agents Say “Yes” to the TWU in 82% Vote”

Each legislative session, AFT-Oregon works in Salem to advance the interests of our 15,000 members, fellow labor unions, and allied community groups. We also fight harmful, anti-worker policies, like attacks on a dignified retirement. Our legislative priorities are guided by the AFT-Oregon Constitution and resolutions passed by members at our annual convention, and put into action by the AFT-Oregon… Continue reading AFT-Oregon: “Legislative Agenda 2017 Progress Report”

Graduate student teaching and research assistants at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) submitted a petition for union recognition to the Oregon Employment Relations Board Aug. 29. A clear majority of the 250 students signed authorization cards designating Oregon AFSCME as their union. Graduate students conduct valuable research, but many feel more could be done… Continue reading NW Labor Press: “OHSU grad students unionize with AFSCME”

Only 10.7 percent of American workers belong to a union today, approximately half as many as in 1983. That’s a level not seen since the 1930s, just before passage of the labor law that was supposed to protect workers’ right to organize. Yet American workers have not given up on unions. When we conducted a nationally representative survey of the workforce with… Continue reading PBS: “A growing number of Americans want to join a union”

A growing and enduring middle class, great public schools, a living wage, affordable healthcare and college, a decent retirement, a voice at work and in our democracy, communities that are safe and welcoming—these are American aspirations, and they are what the American labor movement has fought for, for generations. We have fought to ensure these… Continue reading AFT: “Labor Day Message”