Oregon’s recently introduced Senate Bill 916 would make striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits, giving them more power to secure a fair union contract.
Right now, Oregon’s workers aren’t eligible for these benefits. Strikes are one of the most effective tools that workers have. But they are also an economic hardship, leaving workers without a paycheck and at times putting their benefits at risk.
Employers know that, and employers acting in bad faith will use that information to their advantage. They’ll drag out negotiations in the hopes striking workers will fold out of economic desperation and accept a contract that fails to provide the wages, benefits, and working conditions they need and deserve.
As Oregon AFL-CIO president Graham Trainor testified before the Senate Committee on Labor and Business, “SB 916 simply and modestly levels the playing field a notch by helping make sure that workers are not starved into a contract that perpetuates the ills of our society at large.”
And this bill will level the playing field with minimal impact on Oregon’s unemployment system. One recent study estimates that if this bill is enacted, unemployment for striking workers would account for only 0.24% of unemployment expenditures statewide.
As UAW President Shawn Fain has said, “Striking to fight for a better life is a sacred right.” Workers should be able to strike and fight for a better future without fear of losing their housing or wondering if they’ll be able to cover basics like groceries and child care.
In Solidarity,
The Labor Force
Sources:
https://www.epi.org/publication/ui-striking-workers/
https://www.epi.org/publication/testimony-presented-to-the-oregon-senate-committee-on-labor-and-business-in-support-of-sb-916-oregon-can-provide-unemployment-insurance-for-striking-workers/
https://nwlaborpress.org/2025/02/bill-would-end-bar-on-unemployment-benefits-for-strikers/