Graham Trainor
For The Oregonian/OregonLive
Trainor is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, the statewide federation of labor unions representing over 300,000 working Oregonians.
A bill to lift the current ban against striking workers applying for unemployment benefits is moving through the Oregon Legislature, lifted by the power of working people. Over 520 individuals testified in support, thousands of Oregonians contacted their legislators and nearly 200 union members met directly with legislators to advocate for it.
The right to strike is essential in America. Workers have taken to the picket lines to win reforms including reasonable 40-hour work weeks, weekends off, workplace safety standards, paid time off and restrictions on child labor. It’s the strongest tool workers have and is only used in the most necessary cases of wage and benefit inequality, safety concerns, discrimination and other untenable workplace conditions.
Today, striking workers are ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits in Oregon. But this year, lawmakers have an opportunity to allow workers to apply after a 14-day waiting period.
Contrary to assertions in a recent editorial (“Democrats tee up a gift for donors at public’s expense,” March 19), here’s why it’s necessary. Today, employers have a supreme economic advantage. If workers go on strike, employers can withhold wages, withhold benefits and wait out striking workers until they are desperate, even as they refuse to budge on contract terms. That is exactly what happened in Portland in 2021, when the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 364 at Nabisco/Mondelez went on strike for 43 days. The strike came after four years of working under an expired contract, the company withdrawing from the pension plan and allegations of numerous unfair labor practices. Local 364 member Donna Marks testified that the contract approved fell short of workers' needs, and that SB 916 could have prevented that. And just last year, striking nurses were kept afloat by utilizing emergency resources like mobile food pantries. Assured access to unemployment benefits would have helped health care workers get by and reach an agreement that increased patient outcomes and safety more quickly.
This commonsense bill is affordable. Based on years of data on previous strikes, we believe it will result in minimal impacts to Oregon’s unemployment insurance system – less than 1% of total annual unemployment benefit expenditures — and to employers. Strikes extending beyond 14 days are exceedingly rare in Oregon — the median duration being five days since 2020. And when employers know they cannot just starve workers out in contract negotiations, we believe they will get to their last, best and final offer sooner which will limit and shorten strikes.
It’s also important to understand that public employees, including school district, local government and state workers, do not have the same access to strikes as private sector workers, which is why such strikes are so rare. Public employees are required to participate in a state regulated bargaining process that can take up to 210 days to navigate before a strike can even start. When a worker goes on strike, they are not paid their salary by their employer. Unemployment benefits replace only 40-60% of a worker’s wage, which is far less than the already budgeted salary. This bill also ensures that if workers negotiate back pay – an infrequent occurrence – unemployment benefits would be returned to the state.
SB 916 was put forth by the Oregon AFL-CIO, on behalf of workers across the state who have clearly demonstrated the need for this bill to help level the playing field for workers facing a gross power imbalance between themselves and employers. That’s why we and hundreds of workers have and continue to testify in support.
SB 916 would not put workers on level ground with their employers, but it will ensure no worker has to starve, miss rent payments, go to food pantries, or live off credit cards and GoFundMe campaigns to survive, as many have while striking. This bill will provide a safety net, empowering workers to negotiate with dignity and motivate employers to better listen to workers’ needs at the bargaining table. We believe passing this critical piece of legislation will give workers a fighting chance.