The Oregon Labor Dispatch: July 17, 2025
UPCOMING EVENTS
THIS WEEKEND: Portland Pride Festival 2025
July 19 & 20 in Portland
March in solidarity with Oregon's Labor Movement in the Pride Parade on Sunday, July 20th, then visit our booth at the Portland Waterfront Pride Festival.Click here to register to march in the parade
TAKE ACTION
Local journalists are a necessary part of our state’s democracy, but with papers closing across the state, we can’t afford more layoffs. Join Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild in their fight by sending a letter to Carpenter Media!
CALL: Sign the Discharge Petition and Pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act
We have the votes in Congress to overturn President Trump’s executive order busting federal workers’ union rights. Call your rep right now and tell them to sign the discharge petition to bring the Protect America’s Workforce Act to the floor for a vote.
LABOR JOBS
Oregon AFL-CIO Hiring Statewide Political Organizer
MUST READ
Here's How Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" Will Make Life in America Worse
July 16, 2025 | In These Times
The budget bill passed by Republicans and signed by President Trump represents the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich since chattel slavery.
OREGON LABOR
Oregon labor bureau gets $19M budget boost to tackle wage claim backlog
July 14, 2025 | Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon’s labor bureau says it will stop prioritizing wage claims based on income by the end of 2025 after a significant funding boost approved by state lawmakers will allow the agency to tackle backlogs that have left wage theft and discrimination claims unresolved for years.
Another 200 Legacy Nurses Join Oregon Nurses Association
July 16, 2025 | Willamette Week
Another 200 nurses at Legacy Health hospitals in Oregon and Washington voted to join the Oregon Nurses Association last week, pushing the union’s representation to a new high in the hospital system.
FEDERAL ATTACKS
US judge grants Trump admin request to scrap Biden-era medical debt rule
July 11, 2025 | Reuters
A federal judge in Texas on Friday granted a request from the Trump administration and industry groups to scrap regulations adopted during the final days of Joe Biden's presidency that would have removed consumers' medical debts from their credit reports, court papers showed.
State Department fires more than 1,300 employees in downsizing plan
July 11, 2025 | The Washington Post
The State Department began firing more than 1,300 employees via email on Friday as a part of the Trump administration’s plans to downsize government and cut back on what it called “bloat” and inefficiencies.
US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department
July 14, 2025 | Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump's administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education, part of his bid to shrink the federal government's role in education in favor of more control by the states.
ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS
More immigration judges are being fired amid Trump's efforts to speed up deportations
July 14, 2025 | NPR
Another round of immigration judges received an email on Friday informing them they are being let go, NPR has learned, adding to the growing list of immigration court personnel cut by President Trump amid his efforts to speed up deportations of immigrants without legal status.
THE LABOR MOVEMENT
Coping with Climate Crises on the Job
July 16, 2025 | Labor Notes
Heat, smoke, flooding, hurricanes, fires, turbulence—on the job, workers are already facing the ravages of a changing climate. These problems are ripe for organizing—usually everyone is feeling it. Often it’s very clear what solution would help, and who could deliver it.