Bill to give striking workers unemployment benefits passed by Oregon Senate
SALEM, Ore. (KPTV) - A bill that would allow striking workers access to unemployment benefits was just passed by the Oregon Senate.
Senate Bill 916 is now advancing to the Oregon House of Representatives. If the bill passes, it would make Oregon the first state in the country to allow public employees to collect unemployment benefits while on strike.
Under the proposed legislation, workers on strike would need to go two weeks without pay before qualifying for unemployment benefits.
For context, non-striking workers would receive weekly cash payments based on their previous wages. However, their health benefits would not be covered.
The bill would require workers who collect back pay after a strike to pay it back to the unemployment fund. It also specifies that district employees who receive unemployment benefits during a strike would have the amount they received in benefits deducted from their future pay.
People in support of the bill argue it would level the playing field between striking workers and their employers.
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Tamara Jones-Childs, a registered nurse represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, wrote in support of the bill, sending a message while on Day 29 of the Providence strike. That strike has since ended.
Her statement read, in part: “I have chosen to go on strike at a financial cost and sacrifice to myself and family... I have received minimal help from family and taken on debt during this strike. I believe we should be able to stand up for safe working conditions while receiving unemployment.”
Meanwhile, those against the bill believe it will only lead to more strikes in Oregon.
Kevin Goodrich set a message that was read on the Senate floor that said in part, “Incentivizing strikes by compensating strikers to undermine regular operations is a Draconian measure to disrupt the private sector with governmental (welfare) spending. Strongly oppose.”
Senate Bill 916 is now headed to the Oregon House of Representatives.
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