Political & Legislative News

AFT-Oregon members engage in political and legislative advocacy on behalf of our federation, our communities, and our professions. 

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AFT-Oregon will endorse candidates for Oregon State Treasurer, Oregon State Senator, and Oregon State Representative candidates running in November 2024. We also welcome applications for local candidates such as Portland City Council candidates to coordinate with our local unions. Candidates for local races must first be endorsed or recommended for endorsement by a local union. 

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AFT-Oregon President Ariana Jacob met with other state labor leaders at Governor Tina Kotek’s ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 1552, the Senate Education Omnibus Bill. They were joined by State Senator Courtney Neron and by State Senator Michael Dembrow, who sponsored the bill.

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At AFT-Oregon we focus our electoral work on state level candidate endorsements, primarily state representative and state senator positions. The Oregon State Legislature is where important budget decisions are made, such as how much money our schools, community colleges, and universities receive from the state from year to year to fund our students' educations and the jobs of most of our members. Beyond the education budget, the issues decided by this state body are vast: healthcare, housing, transportation, climate mitigation and adaptation, and so much more. These issues affect our members and we are here to make sure that our voices are heard in Salem so we work with elected officials along with labor and community partners to develop a strong education agendas for Oregon Legislative Sessions.

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AFT-Oregon just finished our advocacy and lobbying in the Oregon Legislature's 2024 short session, bolstered by our new Legislative Fellows member program. A summary of legislative progress can be found in our 2024 Legislative Report. 

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The Oregon Legislature concluded its 2023 legislative session with landmark bills passed supporting classified staff, part time faculty, and improving public university governance. Read more in our 2023 Legislative Report. 

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Each election, candidates ask AFT-Oregon for our valuable endorsement. Members on our Political and Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) spend hours evaluating the candidates and their questionnaire responses to select candidates who best represent our members.  Here are the committee’s endorsements for the 2022 General Election on November 8th. MORE

Each election year, candidates ask AFT-Oregon for our valuable endorsement. Members on the Political and Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) spend hours evaluating the candidates and their questionnaire responses to select candidates who best represent our members.  Here are the committee’s endorsements for the 2022 Primary Election on May 17. MORE

The Oregon Legislature just completed its 2022 short session by passing outstanding new bills to help AFT-Oregon’s members. Below are summaries of some of the most important legislation. MORE

During their November 2021 meeting, the AFT-Oregon Executive Council, on the recommendation of the Political and Legislative Action Committee (PLAC), made the following endorsements.  We endorse the efforts of PCUN to pass legislation for Farmworker Overtime (FOT) Pay. California and Washington have already passed FOT legislation and it’s time for Oregon to end the unfair and racist exclusion of farmworkers from overtime pay. MORE