Portland Jobs with Justice
A Labor-Community Organizing Hub
Pledge Solidarity with Strike-Ready UPS Teamsters!
Join the Oregon Strike-Ready Coalition! Rally & BBQ June 25th
Over 340,000 Teamsters at UPS are gearing up to fight for better pay and treatment on the job when their contract expires on July 31, 2023. And on Monday, June 5th, Teamsters across the country began taking a strike authorization vote! If the company doesn’t respond to their demands, they are preparing to take part in the largest strike in American history. The UPS contract is a standard setter. It’s always true that when workers win we all win and with UPS the effects will be felt nationwide!
Will you and your organization pledge Solidarity with the UPS Teamsters fighting for a strong contract and fair wages?
Sign-up here to join the picket line, circulate strike-ready pledge cards, attend a fundraiser, and/or bring food & supplies to the picket line!
Get in touch with Jamie at jamie.partridge1@gmail.com if your organization can invite the campaign to your members’ meeting to make a pitch and circulate pledge cards!
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Announcing: JWJ’s 2023 Summer Solidarity Celebration!
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Join us for a Hot Union Summer!
Live local music!
Thursday, June 15 at 6:30pm
Ecotrust Rooftop (721 NW 9th Ave Suite 200)
*Masks are required when not actively eating or drinking. Thanks for keeping our communities safe!
TICKETS HERE!
Facebook event page here!
Questions? Contact Jill at jill@jwjpdx.org
Eviction Representation for All Will Protect Working People and Families: YES on Measure 26-238 in May!
What’s Eviction Representation for All?
Eviction Representation for All is the ballot measure campaign that will establish free and universal legal representation for tenants in Multnomah County eviction court.
We need ERA because everyone deserves a fair shot in court—not just those who can afford a lawyer.
Why would someone need a lawyer in eviction court?
Without an in-depth knowledge of the legal system, tenants are vulnerable to procedural tricks, abusive conduct, predatory contracts, and intimidation in court. In 2019 and 2020, landlords were 10-15 times more likely than tenants to have a lawyer in Multnomah County. Evictions in Multnomah County mirror eviction trends across the United States – they disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, Latine tenants and tenants of color, households that are women led, and families with children, tenants with disabilities, and queer and trans renters.
Tenants with lawyers are more likely to stay in their homes. In New York City, 84% of tenants with representation were able to stay in their homes. In Cleveland, 93%!
Eviction right to counsel exists in over 25 localities around the country including San Francisco, Seattle (and the State of Washington), Baltimore, NYC, Minneapolis, Kansas City and many more. Check out National Coalition for Civil Right to Counsel’s map of other places with eviction right to counsel. Vote YES on 26-238 by May 16 so Portland can get it, too!
Measure 26-238 is part of a growing movement to keep people housed amidst this County’s housing crisis! Evictions are a catalyst for economic distress that can last for years. According to new research from the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison, “During periods of post-eviction homelessness or housing instability, employment and earnings also declined significantly.” Programs like Eviction Representation for All are a proven means of reducing all of the harmful impacts of evictions. Let’s make eviction rare and fair!
ERA is proudly endorsed by more than 60 local housing, labor, faith, legal, and community-based organizations, and leaders in the community including Portland Jobs with Justice and the many members of JWJ’s coalition dedicated to a fair economy for all workers! See the full list of endorsers here!
Help get the word out about Measure 26-238 so that together we can win for working people!
We are door knocking this weekend (and every weekend) until May 16th to talk to voters across the County!
Connect to canvasses and other events by clicking here!
Donate here!
Boost the campaign on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Here’s how to update your voter registration so you can vote in the May 2023 Special Election!
If you are interested in organizing canvasses, events, fundraisers, and to support the campaign in any other way, click here! Get in touch with the campaign at eratenants@gmail.com
Organize, Unite, Win – JWJ’s 2023 Faith Labor Breakfast Served up Solidarity!
On Tuesday, February 21st, JWJ held its 21st Annual Faith Labor Breakfast: Organize, Unite, Win!
In 2023, we returned to St. Andrew Catholic Church for the first time since 2020. Organized by the Faith Labor Committee and opened by Rev. Chris Dela Cruz, Associate Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church and Fr. Dave Zegar, Pastor, St. Andrew Catholic Parish, we began with a Land Acknowledgement and Interfaith Prayers including Rabbi Ariel Stone to ground and open the event.
Next, we moved into hearing from workers organizing across the community – moral struggles for dignity and fairness. Workers shared stories of being underpaid, overworked, understaffed and who, through solidarity and unity, are winning back power in the workplace!
We were honored to be joined by Arthur Pratt of Starbucks Workers United, Charlotte Garner of AFSCME Local 88 at Central City Concern, Nat Glitsch who spoke about Growing Seeds Workers Union, and New Seasons Labor Union. Workers shared their stories of great courage and determination as they and their colleagues work to create conditions beyond a status quo which is failing them. Several workers spoke about the fact that not a year ago, forming a union was unknown territory, but they started the essential work of a union by joining together to collectively confront workplace issues.
The Faith Labor Committee was honored to host as Keynote Speaker, Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson. A longtime lover of math and statistics, Stephenson’s speech drew on mathematical concepts as a metaphor. She learned early on about the concept of multiplicity – that she could achieve more through getting others to join. The concept of multiplicity, when applied to organizing for social justice, is “solidarity” by another name. The common denominator that working people share is that the math of the global economy has failed to deliver prosperity in a very, very rich world. But we are stronger together and greater than the sum of our parts. When we organize and unite, we can win: we can all achieve a solidarity dividend! You can check out her full speech at the link below.
Faith Labor committee members and friends Hannah Sloane-Barton (Co-chair), CJ Alicandro, Joel Glick provided musical interludes and sing-a-longs that called us to our feet.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who made this event and our everyday work possible! Whether you purchased a ticket, organized members to attend and/or share with us, or stepped up to volunteer your time or services to make this event and many others a success– thank you! Thank you for being the base of support that keeps this movement running!
Check out our live Twitter thread here! If you are interested in joining an upcoming committee meeting, send a message to hsloanebarton@oregonafscme.org or dbrown@fullerton.edu. If you are a worker in struggle, we’d love to invite you for solidarity!
Please spend some time listening to Commissioner Stephenson’s speech, below!
Organize, Unite, Win! Join us for Portland JWJ’s 2023 Faith Labor Breakfast!
JWJ’s beloved Faith/Labor Committee kicks off 2023 with hosting their annual Faith/Labor Breakfast.
The theme “Organize, Unite, Win!” sets the stage for the year ahead!
We’ll hear from Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson and feature organizing stories from workers across the city! Light breakfast is provided.
Tuesday, February 21st
7:30am – 9:00am
St. Andrew Catholic Church
806 NE Alberta St, Portland
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets!
Tickets are $25 but no one will be turned away.
If you’d like to send a check, please make it out to Portland Jobs With Justice and mail to:
2710 NE 14th Ave. Portland, OR 97212
Please contact Jill for more ticket information — jill@jwjpdx.org
We look forward to seeing you there!
Portland Rising Presents: Night-in At The Movies film discussion!
JWJ’s Portland Rising Committee is doing something different for our January film night. In the past we gathered on zoom to watch and discuss a film on the same night. This time, because our film, Pride, is longer than our usual fare, we are asking people to watch the film on their own when convenient and then join us on Friday, January 27, at 7 pm to discuss it.
The film can be seen on several streaming platforms–including on Amazon (free for Prime members) and YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and Vudu—for under $3. So, watch the film, and then join us on zoom on January 27, at 7 pm, for a fun and thoughtful conversation.
You can get the zoom link by emailing: portlandrisingprograms@gmail.com.
Pride is a 2014 British comedy-drama based closely on a true story. The film takes place during Margaret Thatcher’s neo-liberal rule over British society and is about a group of lesbian and gay activists who raise money to help struggling mining families during the national miners’ strike of 1984. This heart-warming and heart-breaking story has much to teach about the challenges and rewards of building community solidarity. Here is the short trailer for the film—well worth a watch.
