The Oregon Labor Dispatch: October 23, 2025
RESOURCES
Resources for Federal Workers Impacted by Government Shutdown
🚨It’s day 23 of the government shutdown, and federal workers are hurting. If you’ve been impacted by the shutdown, view our Oregon-specific and federal resources for government workers.
UPCOMING EVENTS
UFW Rally to Support Windmill Farm Boycott
Oct. 26 at 2pm at Grocery Outlet in Salem
Join us for an action outside Grocery Outlet on Lancaster Dr in Salem.
Research Workers United OHSU Rally
Oct. 30 from 4-7pm at Mac Hall Lawn
Sign a strike pledge card on Oct. 30 from 4-7pm and hear from RWU speakers at Mac Hall Lawn.
Free Showing of PARTNERS
Nov. 2 at 3pm at 5th Avenue Cinema
The film, produced by Working Films, a national nonprofit organization based in North Carolina, tells the story of how Starbucks baristas started a labor revolution, featuring on-the-ground footage from workers and organizers. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q/A session with Chris Sessions, the film maker, and two Portland-area Starbucks Workers United union members.
MUST READ
Oregon is not a military target
Oct. 15, 2025 | NW Labor Press
Read Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor’s latest piece in the Northwest Labor Press.
9th Circuit rules that National Guard can deploy to Portland, but legal questions loom
Oct. 20, 2025 | OPB
The appeals court overturned the ruling of a lower court judge in Oregon, which could pave the way for President Trump to deploy the National Guard to Portland.
OREGON LABOR NEWS
Kaiser healthcare workers end 5-day strike and return to work as wage negotiations set to resume
Oct. 20, 2025 | KGW
About 4,000 healthcare workers returned to Kaiser Permanente facilities in Oregon and southwest Washington on Sunday morning after a five-day strike, with contract negotiations scheduled to resume Wednesday.
FEDERAL ATTACKS
Oregon food pantries, families brace for SNAP disruption amid prolonged federal shutdown
Oct. 21, 2025 | KGW
With a federal government shutdown extending into its 22nd day, there is growing worry among people who rely on food benefits.
Trump Has Handed Coal Miners a “Death Sentence.” But They’re Not Going Without a Fight.
Oct. 21, 2025 | The Nation
As I reported for In These Times, the rule would have cut the allowable exposure level of the deadly dust—20 times more toxic than coal dust and a major cause of black lung disease among coal miners—in half.
Trump tells Democrats no meeting over shutdown until government reopens
Oct. 21, 2025 | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Tuesday rebuffed a request by top Democratic lawmakers to meet until the three-week-old U.S. government shutdown ends.
Workers and Employers Face Higher Health Insurance Costs
Oct. 22, 2025 | The New York Times
Family health insurance coverage for the vast majority of American workers reached an average of $27,000 this year, with little relief expected next year, according to a survey released Wednesday by KFF, a health research group.
ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS
Oct. 21, 2025 | Politico
A panel of federal appeals court judges appeared deeply skeptical Tuesday of the Trump administration’s effort to detain and deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil using an obscure provision of immigration law.
California Labor Leader's Felony Charge Over Immigration Protest Is Reduced
Patch
By Associated Press
Oct. 20, 2025
The leader of a labor union in Southern California who was arrested while protesting an immigration raid earlier this year will have his felony obstruction charge reduced to a misdemeanor, court records show.
THE LABOR MOVEMENT
Oct. 20, 2025 | In These Times
Seven million people turned out for No Kings marches across the U.S., but now what? Unions will play a key role.