BerniePDX / Portland for Bernie

SEIU submitted a 10-day notice to Kaiser Permanente executives that Coalition unions are calling for our first unfair labor practice strike, starting Oct. 4 at 6 am through 6 am, Oct. 7, 2023.

SEIU Local 49 joins more than 75,000 Kaiser healthcare workers united in this work action across Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, California, and Washington DC – making it the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history. This three-day strike will be the initial demonstration of our strength to Kaiser that we will not stand for their unfair labor practices. Read more here.

Support the strike:
– Join a picket line
– Email the President of Kaiser NW
– Sign the petition

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27: Protest “Who Will Own the Forest?” Conference

On Wednesday, September 27 grassroots activists and leaders from the forest defense & climate justice movement will converge at the World Forestry Center for a massive demonstration to confront these Wall Street capitalists and put them on notice that managing forests to maximize profits for the rich & stall climate action will be met with increasing resistance. There will be speakers, music, marching bands, theatrical performances, art & creative resistance, and more–come out to show these Wall Street elites that extractive forestry and false solutions will be risky investments in the face of staunch grassroots opposition!

Location: World Forestry Center in PDX, RSVP Here for more info

THURSDAY, SEPT. 28, 10AM-5PM: Forests Over Profits Conference

Communities and forests need real solutions to the climate emergency, industrial logging, and colonial land grabbing. On Thursday, September 28 come to the Forests Over Profits conference in Portland. In contrast to the corporate ‘Who Will Own the Forest?’ conference, communities and activists will come together to elevate real solutions and the need for fundamental systems change in the face of capitalist exploitation and the climate & biodiversity crises.

From 10am-5pm we’ll learn from speakers & panelists about approaches to forest management that support ecosystems, empower communities, and grow climate resilience, including Land Back and other indigenous land management systems, community forestry & land trusts, and sustainable forest management. Through presentations and discussions, participants will be encouraged to support real alternatives to corporate, profit-driven management.

RSVP here for more info

Portland teachers are fighting for Safe, Sustainable and Equitable Schools for Every Student. To win this union contract will take all of us — teachers, parents, students, and community members. 

Join the Community Art Build for Public Ed! We will be painting banners, screen printing posters, and assembling other pieces in preparation for coming campaigns to win the public schools all Portland students deserve. Local and national artists have designed most of the work being used in the art build. No art experience is necessary!

Friday, 9/22: 5:00-9:00pm
Saturday, 9/23: 10:00am-9:00pm
Sunday, 9/24: 10:00am-5:00pm

Location: Portland Association of Teachers, 345 NE 8th Ave. 

Sign here to show your support for PSU adjunct faculty!

Adjunct instructors account for approximately 47% of the instructional staff at PSU and teach almost 40% of student credit hours. Every student who attends PSU is taught by an adjunct at some point in their education.

Adjunct working conditions are student learning conditions, and PSU students–particularly our BIPOC and first-generation students–deserve faculty who are compensated with livable wages, benefits, and dignified working conditions. The over 1000 adjunct faculty at PSU deserve pay which reaches parity with their full-time counterparts and keeps up with cost of living.

Currently, PSU does not provide raises to adjuncts based on their length of service. This means that adjuncts working at the university for 10 and even 20 years still make the minimum rate. Adjuncts deserve raises which recognize their career excellence, their essential labor, and their service to students and the University.

Sign & share here to show your support!

In the face of Starbucks’ attempts to crush the union, Starbucks workers have organized, gone on strike, and pressured the company to quit union busting. Now it’s time for Starbucks customers and allies to demand that Starbucks respects workers’ right to organize. We’ll meet outside the store with signs and petitions to engage customers and passersby in support of Starbucks workers. Sign up for national updates at https://sbworkersunited.org/customeraction

Locations: 

5-6am, 1012 NW 21st Ave. 
7-8am, 3424 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove
9-10am, 10826 Southeast Oak Street, Milwaukie
11am-12pm, 2803 E Burnside
4-5pm, 14600 Southwest Murray Scholls Drive, Beaverton

On Monday, September 4, workers at Powell’s Books — represented by ILWU Local 5 since 2000 — will be going on a one-day Unfair Labor Practice Strike. This will be the first strike for Powell’s workers in 20 years! Come join the picket line starting at 9:30am – and remind your friends not to shop at Powell’s on this day. Rally at the downtown Powell’s at 1:00pm! 

Sign the petition to support the workers here. Donate to the strike fund here.

ILWU Local 5 is currently negotiating for its 8th contract with Powell’s and now asks for your solidarity to push Powell’s to bargain fairly with the workers who have made its longevity and success possible!

Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, Rally at 1:00pm
Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton

The pandemic turned our lives—and our schools—upside down. Our students, and our communities, are grappling with more urgent, unmet needs than ever before.

As classroom educators, we see these problems every day. And the past three years have made it abundantly clear that if we want safe, stable, and equitable communities, public schools are the linchpin. But we can’t simply go back to the way schools were before COVID. Our students need—and deserve—so much more.

Over the past few months, thousands of teachers, parents, and Portland residents have shared their vision for great public schools with our union. Together with our community partners, we will be fighting for this vision in our upcoming contract negotiations.

Click here to learn more and sign your name in support of Portland teachers and students.

The board is tasked with creating a Universal Health Plan for Oregon with the core value that “Health care, as a fundamental element of a just society, must be secured for all individuals on an equitable basis by public means, similar to public education, public safety and public infrastructure.” The board will present their plan by September 2026. You can read the rest of SB1089 here.

Sign the Petition to Save the Portland Street Response!

As community members who support effective community safety interventions that prioritize healing and accountability, highly skilled unarmed first responders like Portland Street Response (PSR) are exactly what we need more of. In spite of PSR’s success, recent Council action has demonstrated a lack of support for the popular program that makes Portland safer for all.

We are asking the Portland City Council to stick to their promise that they would champion and expand Portland Street Response by taking the following action:

1. End the hiring freeze imposed on Portland Street Response and adequately fund PSR to meet citywide demand 24/7, as promised by City Council.
2. Remove restrictions on the purchase of life-saving supplies used to provide services, build community trust and de-escalate 911 calls.
3. Allow Portland Street Response to respond to more 911 call types, such as appropriate calls inside residences or involving a potential suicide attempt.
4. Keep Portland Street Response out of enforcement activities.
5. Establish Portland Street Response as a co-equal branch of our first responder network located within a supportive environment in Portland city government.

Sign and share the petition today!

Nurses & clinicians have been engaged in contract negotiations for eight months and they are clear that Providence management has not responded to their concerns with serious proposals.

Providence has rejected common-sense proposals to improve patient care and safety by raising staffing standards. Providence has refused to commit to safe staffing and other critical patient safety issues in our contracts. When healthcare workers are asked to do more with less, patient lives are at stake. Visit https://www.oregonrn.org/ to learn more. 

WHERE & WHEN:

Providence Portland (4805 NE Glisan St.) – 24 hour picket lines starting 5am on 6/19 through 7pm on 6/23; Kick-off Rally 6/19, 5-8pm

Providence Home Health & Hospice (6410 NE Halsey St.) – 7am-6pm picket lines, 6/19-6/23

Providence St. Vincent’s (9205 SW Barnes Rd) – Solidarity picket on 6/21, 4-8pm

Providence Seaside Hospital (725 S Wahanna Rd, Seaside) – 6:30am-9pm picket lines, 6/19-6/23, and a Rally on 6/20 at 2pm