Working Oregonians have had quite the year so far with a dizzying level of chaos, direct attacks, and historic levels of federal overreach coming out of Washington D.C. since inauguration day. On one hand, the Trump administration has continued to say they are standing up and fighting for the working class. And on the other, they have actively attempted to dismantle the federal civil service through mass firings and illegally shredding union contracts.
This administration has cancelled billions of dollars worth of federal infrastructure and energy projects, adding to the out-of-work lists at our union halls. They have weaponized and emboldened the federal government in an inhumane, anti-worker mass deportation agenda targeting our workplaces and our communities. They have ramrodded the “big betrayal bill” or H.R. 1 through Congress, effectuating the largest job-killing policy and the greatest upward transfer of wealth from workers to billionaires in American history. They have defunded and defanged the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and other enforcement agencies. They have caused chaos, confusion, and uncertainty in our economy through a reckless and unpredictable trade war making our jobs and our livelihoods less secure. And they have stripped healthcare access from millions of workers, devastated the care economy and the workers who make it possible, and have set in motion a total loss of more than 1.2 million jobs just from Medicaid and SNAP cuts by 2029, according to one estimate.
These examples, alone, are a troubling commentary on the current vision for America coming out of our nation’s capital that showcases a “billionaires first, workers last” agenda and some of the grave consequences facing working Oregonians as a result.
But throughout September, President Trump escalated further his unwarranted and illegal attempt to target U.S. cities when he announced that he would authorize the U.S. military to use “full force” in Oregon. The very next day, more than 2,000 Oregonians peacefully protested in “war-ravaged” downtown Portland, and Oregon’s Attorney General Dan Rayfield alongside the City of Portland filed a lawsuit to block the President’s deployment of federal forces. Since then, we’ve seen a focused legal strategy led by Governor Kotek and AG Rayfield as they stand up for Oregon values in the courts, despite a constant series of appeals and challenges by the administration and their attempts to bully their way into American cities to implement their authoritarian playbook.
In the lead-up to this announcement by the President, Oregon’s labor movement and community allies came together to do what we do best — build the infrastructure needed to communicate, mobilize, and strategize in preparation for further escalation in our beautiful city and state because our families and our communities do not want troops on our streets. This blatant federal overreach endangers our families, freedoms, and futures. And in the labor movement, we know that nonviolent movements are much more likely to succeed in defeating authoritarian regimes — and we are committed to opposing this dangerous federal threat by coming together peacefully and rejecting violence targeted toward our immigrant neighbors.
In the coming months, no matter the attacks we face or the effort it takes, the Oregon labor movement will stand firm in our work to support the Protect Oregon coalition, come together with our community partners and allies, and unite around a common belief in the power of working class solidarity. And when workers and our communities are bound by solidarity, there’s not a bully in the world we can’t effectively take on. Visit protect-oregon.com to take action.
Graham Trainor is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, the statewide federation of labor unions, representing over 300,000 working Oregonians.
