NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
Who’s on our side?
By Graham Trainor Oregon AFL-CIO President
Allyship includes action
2020 has been quite a year for working
people, and it’s not even halfway over
yet.
An economic system that was al-
ready making the lives of too many Ore-
gonians precarious, unstable, and unsus-
tainable was then made catastrophically
worse almost overnight by a global pan-
demic. These truths illustrate a shared
struggle of the working class in the
midst of these unprecedented times.
But all things are not the least bit
equal within this struggle. Just like
black, brown, and women workers are
left behind disproportionately by gains
in the economy, workers of color are
also being killed by the coronavirus at
greater rates than white workers. If you
are black or brown, study after study
shows that health outcomes are between
30% to 40% worse than if you are
white. The way our society has been
built does not embody the freedoms es-
poused in our nation’s founding docu-
ments, and it never has.
We must acknowledge the fact that
our systems, our institutions, and our so-
cietal norms have been built upon a
foundation of racism and white su-
premacy that gives some people privi-
lege, and intentionally takes it away
from others based on the color of their
skin. It is incumbent on white leaders in
the Labor Movement to not only ac-
knowledge this, but to act with the same
urgency we tackle our everyday fight
for economic justice as we work to dis-
mantle these racist systems. The strug-
gles for economic and racial justice are
inextricably linked.
The critically important Black Lives
Matter movement was not founded in
the wake of the tragic murders of Bre-
onna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud
Arbery, or any of the recent killings of
unarmed black women and men. And
its founding in 2013 as a grassroots, so-
cial media outrage to the acquittal of
Trayvon Martin’s killer was also not the
founding, by any means, of the struggle
for black lives. The killings of black
men and women at the hands of law en-
forcement and racist vigilantes is, unfor-
tunately, nothing new for those directly
impacted by systemic racism.
As thousands have rallied and
marched in every corner of our state, ru-
ral and urban communities — from On-
tario to Portland to Dalles — this move-
ment for racial justice is unmistakable
and inspiring. Oregon’s Labor Move-
ment must rise to the challenge and re-
double our commitment to black lives.
At a number of the daily actions in
Portland and around the state, I’ve been
proud to see many leaders, staff, and
members in Oregon’s Labor Movement
humbly showing up, marching, and
chanting. I’ve also been heartened to
see many strong, progressive statements
made by Oregon unions regarding sup-
port for the Black Lives Matter move-
ment and calling for an end to systemic
racism. These are absolutely important,
foundational steps we can take... and
showing up to actions and making state-
ments isn’t enough.
As trade unionists, collective action
is in our DNA. The power of working
people coming together to tackle injus-
tice is who we are and what we do. And
while our history has many proud mo-
ments of intersectionality with the civil
rights movement, and we know that col-
lective bargaining is a critical tool to dis-
mantle racial injustice on the shop floor,
the Labor Movement has also grappled
with its own exclusionary history.
Seeing the incredible, black-led
movement in our communities calling
for change in recent weeks has awoken
our nation to the systemic racism at play
in the very fabric of our society. Police
brutality and the senseless killings of un-
armed black women and men at the
hands of law enforcement is, unfortu-
nately, not new, but this moment is dif-
ferent. Oregon’s union movement has a
responsibility to not just show up and is-
June 19, 2020 | PAGE 7
sue statements, but to join the calls for
change in real, profound ways.
For white leaders, listening, stepping
back, and supporting the black and
brown leaders inside our unions and
communities is an important step we
can take. This listening must include
gaining a deeper understanding of the
calls for change being made in this mo-
ment, the calls to end systemic racism
and more than 400 years of police vio-
lence against black Americans. Ore-
gon’s union movement has a unique op-
portunity to further align our vision for
economic justice with the struggle to
end racism and police brutality. This
work must include the hard, uncomfort-
able, internal work of dismantling
racism in our organizations. By deepen-
ing partnerships with black-led commu-
nity organizations calling for change,
supporting black leaders, and using our
collective power to call on elected lead-
ers to act with purpose, our movement
will once again rise to the challenge of
tackling injustice in all its forms.
We must keep showing up, disman-
tling racism whenever we see it, and
keep being better allies. We must also
do the harder, more important work of
supporting the effort to enact lasting
change. Allyship must include action,
and we must do so much more, because
Black Lives Matter.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong
federation of labor unions.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
OSU faculty ratify first contract
Faculty at Oregon State Univer-
sity, at a time of unprecedented
challenges to higher education,
ratified an historic first union con-
tract June 12. United Academics
of Oregon State University
(UAOSU) represents 2,200
workers at the campus in Corval-
lis, Oregon. Seventy-two percent
of the membership voted accept-
ance by a 99% margin.
UAOSU is affiliated nationally
with the American Association of
University Professors, American
Federation of Teachers.
The victory comes after six
years of organizing and 18
months of negotiating, and nearly
two years after faculty filed a pe-
tition with the Oregon Employ-
ment Relations Board. The con-
tract is one of the first in the
Pacific Northwest for research-
heavy, land-grant universities.
The union bargained with the
university during marathon ses-
sions to firewall salary cuts from
deficit reductions, while ac-
knowledging the need for some
shared sacrifice in the face of de-
clining revenue.
“In the midst of a global pan-
demic, faculty are going above
and beyond to shift to remote
teaching, support, and mentor stu-
dents, and find creative ways to
continue making progress on im-
portant research and scholarship—
including research that is crucial to
addressing the COVID-19 crisis,”
said Marisa Chappell, associate
professor in the School of History,
Philosophy, and Religion.
Before the UAOSU contract
there was no guarantee that facil-
ities and equipment necessary to
do job duties would be provided
or maintained and no contractual
guarantee of the right to refuse to
do hazardous work. The new
contract ensures that the em-
ployer must provide and maintain
facilities and equipment neces-
sary to job duties, and faculty
have the right to refuse hazardous
work — and there will be proce-
dures for addressing workplace
safety issues.