Month: March 2025

Street Roots: City Council demands mayor investigate Zenith Energy agreement

This is a huge win for Portland thanks to our new City Council!

“Portland City Council voted 11-1 on March 19 in favor of a resolution demanding Mayor Keith Wilson investigate Zenith Energy’s potential violations of its franchise agreement after the Houston-based fossil fuel transport and storage company constructed and operated pipes at its Northwest Portland facility without first notifying the Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ.

… The City Council also urged the city auditor to investigate and prepare a report detailing the city’s handling of Zenith’s recent land use application, citing ‘competing statements’ made by city officials and Zenith in a Jan. 21 work session. Additionally, it directed Wilson to pause any administrative action with regard to Zenith until the investigation is complete.” Read more here.

Vote for the BerniePDX 2025 Portland Public School Board Endorsements!

VOTE HERE!

Learn about the candidates’ backgrounds and priorities, as well as:

– How they will protect and fight for more school funding
– The relationship they think the board should have with the teachers union
– How they will protect students under threat from the Trump Administration
– Their ideas for how PPS can support students experiencing housing insecurity
– and more!

…then cast your vote for the candidates you think deserve the BerniePDX endorsement.

LAST DAY TO VOTE IS SUNDAY, MARCH 23.

Support the Rent Control Bill! Deadline is March 21, 1:00pm

Senate Bill 722 would improve our state’s rent stabilization statutes and prohibit the use of AI price-fixing software to inflate rents. This is a no-cost policy tool to help address our unfolding housing affordability crisis. This bill would go a long way to support renters in our state!

Learn more and add your name here! Your message will be sent to the Senate Committee on Housing and Development, and the deadline to submit is Friday, March 21 at 1:00pm.

If You’re Jewish and Live in CD-3: Sign to ask Rep. Maxine Dexter to Reject AIPAC!

Add your name here!

“We are a group of Jews in Oregon’s 3rd congressional district who believe that AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is prolonging a broken and destructive status quo for both Palestinians and Israelis, and actively undermining progressive causes in the United States. We want to make accepting AIPAC endorsements or money as unthinkable as receiving them from the NRA or the oil and gas industry. We’re starting in our district, by calling on our representative, Maxine Dexter, to publicly reject AIPAC from this point forward. Such a public rejection would be a powerful message to AIPAC, and to other Democratic lawmakers.” Read the rest and sign here.

PSU Professors Get Ready to Strike – Show your Support!

How you can help:

Background:

Since June, PSU-AAUP members have been bargaining upwards of 170 hours to have their needs met. On the table are cost of living adjustments, multilingual pay differentials, salary progression for workers who have no promotion paths, layoff protections, cost of living increases to be able to afford to live where we teach, support for research-funded workers who’s funding is being attacked by the Trump administration, and more.

Despite practice pickets, Board of Trustees speakouts, and public letters of support from Oregon State Treasurer Steiner, Rep Muñoz, Portland City Councilors Morillo, Koyama-Lane, Green, and Avalos, the Cudd Administration remains intransigent. Workers could strike as early as March 31.

With over $1B spent since 2010 on construction and developers and construction CEO holding sway over the PSU Board of Trustees and PSU Foundation, it is clear: the University’s priorities are in the wrong place. Instead of prioritizing and investing in students, Administration and the Board are hurting students and are hurting the workers who support students to thrive.