Take Action

Help Pass the American Jobs Act
It’s time to send Congress a message: Get America Back to Work.
Click here to contact your Congressmen.

Special Event in Portland
See this week’s last story for information on a documentary viewing and discussion with the filmmaker, this coming Monday night.

Renew the Gas Tax, and Get Our Economy Back on the Road

On Labor Day, we held a press conference featuring Senator Jeff Merkley, Sheetmetal 16 worker Melinda Clark and local elected leaders and union leaders.  As we stood beneath the crumbling Sellwood Bridge, they discussed the need to make infrastructure investment a priority in our country, state, counties and cities.

Click here to see highlights from the press conference.

It’s crucial to repair our bridges so that we can avoid tragedies like the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse.  Based on current government structural ratings, the Sellwood Bridge is 25 times worse than the Minnesota bridge at the time of collapse.  Sure, Minnesota’s bridge was a much higher traffic bridge than Sellwood’s but the point remains: It’s clear that we need to make a choice as a nation and shift our priorities to investing in our infrastructure.

Renewing the Gas Tax renews our commitment to making our communities strong – but it may become Congress’s next political pawn.  By putting people back to work through repairing existing infrastructure and building new projects we can stay competitive and keep moving forward.  Choosing to end the tax, either for political gain or short-sighted budgeting, will be a step backward in our collective progress.  It will not save you or I money at the pump; it will not lower our tax burden; it will merely delay projects, create bigger, more expensive transportation problems for the future, and give oil companies a windfall bonus that they don’t need.

Read our full article about the Gas Tax at Oregon Strong Voice. 

In Other News...

Hyatt Hotel Workers on Strike

Thousands of Hyatt workers are on strike across the country in Honolulu, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The workers are fed up over unfair contracts, and tired of how Hyatt treats their coworkers who don’t have a union on their side.  It’s time for a change. Show your support!

Send a letter to Hyatt.

Send a message of solidarity to the workers.

Join the picket line, if you’re traveling to any of the cities where the strikes are happening.

And visit our website to find UNITE-HERE’s tool for picking a hotel that treats workers fairly.

Crossing the Border to Cananea

Next Monday in Portland, join the Labor Education and Research Center and the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee at a screening of Crossing the Border to Cananea. The documentary was created by Howard King, director of the Labor Media Project at the University of Minnesota Labor Education Service.  King will be at the viewing to answer questions and discuss the project.

In 2010, 3,500 Mexican soldiers were dispatched to forcibly break a strike by Section 65 of the Mexican Union of Mine, Metal and Allied workers.  Crossing the Border to Cananea documents the issues and events of the strike along with the broader issues such as impact of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.  

Monday, Sep. 19th 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Musician’s Local 99 Hall: 325 NE 20th Ave, Portland

You won’t want to miss it!