On Feb. 25, AFT-Oregon and its union allies testified before the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee On Transportation and Economic Development requesting full funding for Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).
“BOLI is unable to carry out its mission,” said Oregon AFL-CIO president Graham Trainor, “because they are receiving far more claims than the divisions can process. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to right this course and ensure that the laws the Legislature has already passed are a reality for Oregonians.”
AFT-Oregon Executive Council Member Felicity Ratway told the subcommittee she filed a wage claim in November after her employer failed to pay for her contract work, and was told it would be six months before BOLI could look at her complaint. “I will stay afloat, but not everyone has that luxury,” Ratway said. “For many workers, waiting six months for a resolution of a missed paycheck is financially devastating, not to mention unjust. We deserve an agency that is well funded enough to help us in a timely manner.”
Ratway said BOLI’s backlog encourages some businesses to flout the law. “They feel they can get away with this because BOLI will not be able to respond for months — and there is nothing workers can do,” she said.
For further details, please read the Northwest Labor Press article.
