The Oregon Labor Dispatch: February 26, 2025
SUPPORT WORKERS
URGENT: Tell Lawmakers: Pass the Immigrant Justice Package
Immigrant Oregonians, our families, and communities have been targeted by violent, lawless ICE sweeps resulting in community-wide fear and devastating family separations. No family should have to plan for parents being torn from their children. We only have four more weeks to pass these critical bills. Tell your rep. to support the package NOW.
Submit Public Comment: Army Cops of Engineers Releases NXTClean Fuels Public Notice
Support a wall-to-wall union project and submit public comment in support of the NXTClean Fuels project. After nearly 6 years of permitting, this should be the last public process for our final permit approval.
Send an easy click-and-send comment HERE.
UPCOMING EVENTS
TONIGHT: Labor History is Black History CBTU Discussion
Feb. 26 at 6:30pm at SEIU 503
525 NE Oregon St, Portland
Join the Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists tonight for their final event for Black History Month, “Labor History is Black History, a face-to-face discussion moderated by Vincent Blanco.
Eugene Labor Says ICE Out Rally and Protest
Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2:00pm
Park Blocks, East 8th Ave & Oak St., Eugene
Local labor unions in Lane County invite union members and the community to stand in solidarity against the tactics being used against immigrant neighbors and citizens exercising their constitutionally protected rights.
Women Tapping into the Strength Within: An Inter-Generational Conversation
Sunday, March 8 from 1:00-3:00pm at Oregon AFL-CIO and on Zoom
Join Oregon Women Labor Leaders (OWLL) and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) as we celebrate International Women’s day by exploring the sources of strength and courage for women in unions today. A Zoom link will be provided by request through RSVP.
MUST READ
AFL-CIO Slams SOTU Address: Trump’s Rosy Picture Disconnected from Workers’ Reality
Feb. 15, 2026 | AFL-CIO
Statement from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on President Trump’s State of the Union address.
OREGON LABOR NEWS
Oregon will partially disconnect state tax code from new federal code to curb revenue loss
February 26, 2026 | OPB
Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1507 to help the state preserve $291 million in tax revenue during the next 18 months.
Strike threat looms at Portland Community College
February 20, 2026 | NW Labor Press
Union workers at Portland Community College (PCC) say they’re ready to strike over the college’s offer of 0.35% annual raises.
Oregon may have a real labor commissioner race on its hands
February 24, 2026 | OPB/KLCCHealthcare workers and union members picketed outside Kaiser Permanente’s Sunnyside facility Monday morning, demanding the company return to negotiations for a national contract.
FEDERAL ATTACKS
FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump’s false and misleading claims in his State of the Union speech
Feb. 24, 2026 | AP
On inflation, immigration, tariffs and matters of war and peace, President Donald Trump presented a frequently distorted account of the state of the nation Tuesday as he claimed a “turnaround for the ages” and myriad achievements that don’t pass scrutiny.
ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS
US judge rejects Trump policy allowing swift deportations to alternate countries
Feb. 25, 2026 | Reuters
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration policy allowing for the rapid deportation of migrants to countries other than their own, without giving them a meaningful opportunity to raise fears of persecution or torture, is unlawful and must be struck down.
THE LABOR MOVEMENT
Five Things the New BLS Union Membership Statistics Don’t Tell You
February 20, 2026 | In These Times
Union membership is slightly on the rise—but the hope for U.S. labor’s future is far brighter than the numbers alone suggest.