Oregon labor legislation update

As of mid-April, two union-backed bills have passed at least one Oregon legislative chamber.

• A bill to give hiring hall workers the right to paid sick leave passed the Senate. Union construction workers were left out when Oregon passed paid sick leave in 2015. SB 588, to ensure they have the same rights, passed the Oregon Senate 22-4 on March 24 and is now in the House.  
• A bill to set the prevailing wage at the union rate has also passed the Senate.  In order to set the wage that must be paid on public construction projects, Oregon right now conducts time-consuming annual surveys, and union leaders say the results often don’t reflect what’s really paid. SB 493, a bill to base the prevailing wage on the collectively bargained rate, like Washington does, passed the Oregon Senate 16-11. Scappoose state Sen. Betsy Johnson was the only Democrat to oppose it in a March 31 vote that was otherwise along strict party lines. The bill is now in the House.