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January 1, 2021 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
2020 in review
As chronicled in the Northwest Labor Press, here are some of the year’s
most important developments for organized labor and working people.
THE YEAR OF COVID
More than anything, 2020 was
the year of the coronavirus. A
viral particle one-ten-thou-
sandth of a millimeter in size
emerged from Wuhan, China,
battered the global economy
and killed 1.76 million people,
including 331,000 Americans,
by year’s end.
The virus led to school and
factory closures, plummeting
transit ridership, and a boom in
Amazon and delivery services
like never before. American
workers were laid off by the
million, especially restaurant
and live entertainment work-
ers like musicians and stage-
hands, and airline and hotel
workers. Unemployment
reached 14.7% in April, the
highest in over 70 years, but
by November had dropped to
6.7%.
COVID-19 also momentar-
ily elevated nurses and grocery
workers to a new status as “es-
sential workers,” earning them
gratitude and in some cases
extra pay, but also exposing
them to hazardous conditions
as employers struggled to pro-
vide personal protective equip-
ment (PPE).
Nationally, the AFL-CIO
pushed, cajoled, and filed a
federal lawsuit to get OSHA to
require employers to take spe-
cific actions to protect work-
ers, all without success. Eight
months into the pandemic,
Oregon OSHA issued such a
rule, joining two other states.
In Oregon, unions called
for essential workers who
contracted COVID to auto-
matically get workers com-
pensation benefits, but law-
makers and the governor
wouldn’t budge, and left in-
fected workers to prove they
got it at work.
Local unions also mobi-
lized to collect and distribute
food and other aid to workers
impacted by layoffs.
Organizational life altered
dramatically, as union meet-
ings, conventions, and appren-
tice training were cancelled or
moved online via platforms
like Zoom. Some union elec-
tions were postponed. Labor
Day celebrations were called
off.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
The May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Min-
neapolis led to a major surge in the Black Lives Matter
movement. Union members took part in demonstrations
and in clean-up efforts. At a moment of renewed com-
mitment to racial justice, local unions at the City of Port-
land and in the local building trades pledged to foster
more inclusive and respectful workplace cultures. Na-
tionally, some activists pushed the AFL-CIO to expel po-
lice unions, but the labor federation rejected that idea,
agreeing with the need for police reform but affirming
that police officers, like everyone who works for a living,
have the right to collective bargaining.
ELECTION YEAR
After clinching the Democratic nomination for pres-
ident, Joe Biden won near-unanimous union support,
and defeated Donald Trump in the Electoral College
amid a big increase in vote-by-mail and a historic
high in voter turnout.
In Oregon, unions helped elect an ally, Shemia Fa-
gan (left) to secretary of state. Labor also backed a
successful ballot measure to decriminalize drug pos-
session and increase on-demand drug treatment.
In the Portland area, a successful union-endorsed
measure will make tuition-free preschool available
to all Multnomah County, with teachers paid a living
wage. And winning bond campaigns will support
jobs in parks, and in school and library construction.
But a Metro measure to pay for transportation went
down to defeat.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
A number of notable figures in the local
labor movement died in 2020. But their
work, and their memories, live on.
Robert Blanche, president of the
Portland local of SAG-AFTRA
Steven Deutsch, one of the founders
of the University of Oregon’s Labor
Education and Research Center
Sam Dominy, union rep for
International Woodworkers of
America and the Machinists
Brian Severns, former Machinists
District Lodge assistant directing
business representative
Jerry Lantto, directing business rep for
the Machinists Woodworkers regional
council
George Miller, former directing
business representative of Machinists
District Council 24 and NW Oregon
Labor Council president
Christ George Vokos, former
secretary-treasurer Bakers Local 364
Dick Schneider, former representative
of the Machinists’ international
Sam Rutledge, head of Woodworkers
Local Lodge W12 in Klamath Falls
OREGON/SW WASHINGTON HIGHLIGHTS
BIGGEST PRIVATE SECTOR UNION ORGANIZING WIN
At Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, 203 nurses, counselors, cooks, treat-
ment specialists and other workers joined Oregon AFSCME.
BIGGEST PUBLIC SECTOR UNION ORGANIZING WIN
At Mid-Columbia Center for Living, a three-county intergovernmental
agency that provides mental health and addiction recovery services in the
Columbia Gorge, 112 workers joined Oregon AFSCME.
BIGGEST COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WIN
After a two day strike, about 500 Clark College faculty won raises of up to
$11,064 a year in a three-year contract that also puts part-timers on a
path to hourly pay parity with full-timers.
BIGGEST WORKERS RIGHTS ADVANCE
Under a new Oregon law that took effect July 15, large retail employers
including grocery stores will have to offer predictable schedules and pay
for last-minute changes.
TOP BUILDING TRADES MILESTONES
In Portland, building trades union members completed work on the Ore-
gon Convention Center headquarters hotel, Multnomah County Court-
house, and a massive renovation of the Portland Building, all while ramp-
ing up to record employment at Intel. And under the terms of an
agreement brokered by the City’s development agency, Prosper Portland,
a planned 12-block redevelopment of the former postal facility in North-
west Portland will be done using union labor.