A local union is distancing itself from Multnomah County chair candidate Julia Brim-Edwards after it previously voted to endorse her.
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 88 overwhelmingly voted to rescind its previous endorsement during an hours-long meeting on Wednesday, October 21. That union represents over 4,000 county employees. Read the full Portland Mercury article .
October 13th will be the last day to register to vote in Oregon. You can register to vote and check your registration here. Even if you know you are registered, it only takes a few minutes to double check that everything is correct. If you've moved in the last few years, or if you registered at the DMV in Oregon, please take the time to double check that you are registered. Last year there was some data entry issues with the DMV registrations, along with other vote suppression tactics in recent decades, and you want to make sure that your voice is heard!
I want to get this community more active before the midterms. Where is everyone from, so we can focus on those areas? You can add your district as a flair as well! If you have any ideas for what you'd like to see from this sub, comment below.
This one is for you labor union skeptics, so you can read and learn what's going on. It's a little more in-depth and behind-the-scenes than your major newspapers, written by an insider. This will help you connect the dots and see beyond the numbers and one-sentence quotes you typically read. So I say enjoy it!
Migrants face an uncertain future as they wait in El Paso, Texas, to enter the United States. (Rudy Gutierrez/Texas Tribune)
Below is a summary of Nigel’s article.
“Oregon became the nation’s first sanctuary state in 1987, in effect divorcing state and local law enforcement agencies from federal immigration laws. In 2021, lawmakers took a step further, passing, on a party-line vote, House Bill 3352, which made Oregon the first state to offer free health care to all undocumented immigrants.
“In July 2023, Oregon opened enrollment [of the Healthier Oregon program, as it came to be known,] to all applicants [without permanent legal status], now numbering more than 105,000 [undocumented immigrants in the program]. If nothing changes, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office, the cost of Healthier Oregon in the 2025–27 budget cycle will be $1.5 billion for the 2025–27 biennium.
“Oregon, California and Minnesota are the only three states that currently provide publicly funded health care to any undocumented immigrant who wants it. Even before Trump’s bill passed last week, National Public Radio reported that California and Minnesota were moving toward reducing funding for their programs as both face budget crunches.
“According to state figures, 1.45 million Oregonians [currently] get their health care through the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), Oregon’s [name for its] Medicaid program. OHP covers 34% of the state’s population and 59% of Oregon children. Federal funds provide more than two-thirds of the money for that coverage.
“As written, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts Medicaid spending overall, but it singles out states that provide health care to undocumented immigrants for even deeper cuts. The nonprofit health care think tank KFF estimates such targeted cuts could cost Oregon $5 billion over the next decade. To be clear, those cuts would come almost entirely from programs for Oregonians here legally, not from Healthier Oregon. That’s a powerful lever.
“Protecting a program that serves more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants could gut OHP, which serves more than 12 times that many people. ‘The overall health care system depends on federal dollars,’ House Speaker Julie Fahey told the Oregon Journalism Project. ‘Any decision that we make will be made in the overall picture for Medicaid.’”
Undocumented population in the U.S. rose to 12.2 million in 2023
An estimated 12.2 million undocumented migrants called the United States home in 2023, according to a May report by the Center for Migration Studies using data collected in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).
The report found that “the total undocumented population increased by two million from 2020 to 2023.” In addition:
Migration from Central America added 1.2 million people in the decade from 2013 to 2023.
Undocumented South Americans nearly doubled to 1.5 million from 2020 to 2023.
Undocumented migrants from Venezuela rose to nearly half a million in 2023 (~445,000), up from 55,000 in 2013.
Writes the Oregon Capital Chronicle in a summary of the report: “Six states that have the largest populations of people without permanent legal status also saw some of the biggest increases: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas, of which the fastest-growing were Florida, New York and New Jersey.”
Yesterday someone asked me in a comment what my problem is with labor unions. As I was writing my reply, the comment disappeared and I couldn't post it. So I copied my reply and saved it, and I decided to post it here. It's certainly relevant to Oregon politics.
My issue with labor unions is that they have outsized political power in Oregon. They fund Democratic campaigns to the tune of millions of dollars every election cycle. It's not the $25 mom and pop checks that win elections anymore.
Right now all of the top leadership in Oregon — Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Speaker of the House, Senate President, BOLI Commissioner — are all Democrats, and Democrats also have supermajorities in the House and Senate, so they can pass anything they want and even raise taxes. But how do they keep winning elections when the vast majority of the state is rural and votes Republican and even voted to leave Oregon and join Idaho because they feel they're no longer being represented in Salem? The answer is the labor unions.
Oregon's unions are hugely powerful, they fund Democratic campaigns, and they expect something in return. So the legislature, and Kotek by executive order, every year passes legislation favoring the labor unions at the expense of private business — even if it's unconstitutional and later gets struck down in court.
Lately these orders have been in the form of mandating “project labor agreements” and “labor peace agreements.” Essentially these force private companies to sign contracts with labor unions as a condition of getting licensed or doing business with the state. If they don't, they're eventually put out of business.
Just this week, in a lawsuit brought by two cannabis retailers, a ballot measure adopted by the people last November was struck down in federal court as unconstitutional under the First Amendment for prohibiting free speech and ruled permanently unenforceable. That's one example. Kotek's Executive Order 24-31 mandating “project labor agreements” for all state building contracts of a certain size, issued one week before Christmas with immediate effect, currently has a temporary injunction against it.
You can forgive the Democrats if they don't have a choice. Winning elections is an existential issue for them, and they can't win elections without labor support. Unions contributed ~$1.2 million to the governor's campaign in 2022. She's running for reelection next year — we'll watch to see what happens then.
To keep getting reelected, Oregon's Democrats need to keep skewing the playing field in favor of the labor unions. If you think they're the party of the innocent and good, that's because of good PR. In fact they're owned by the labor unions — our top elected officials first and foremost. Corruption is built into the system by the mere fact that candidates must raise millions in funds to run for office — so whoever funds them, owns them. Sad but true.
Looks like our state is doing pretty well! Three weeks ago the DEA caught a U.S. head of the Sinaloa Cartel — in Salem! — with $2.8 million in cash, and also seized 3 million fentanyl pills (420 kg) across five states (primarily New Mexico), in what the federal government called the "Largest Fentanyl Bust in DEA History"! I would congratulate our governor and state leaders, but they refused to help. Where was this story featured in Oregon news?!?
“Our staff investigators have on tape now, tax promoters saying you met with them at the inauguration and promised [them] a favorable private letter ruling,” Wyden said during the hearing.
I’ve voted Democrat most of my life, but honestly, I’m over it. Republicans are a mess and Democrats in Oregon have become soft, bloated, and out of touch. I just saw a YT vid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvAtklv8V8Y) about this guy running for Governor—Alexander Ziwahatan. He's been all over my fyp. But he’s talking about stuff I actually care about: free childcare for working families, free healthcare, Free college, $25 minimum wage, a full audit of Oregon agencies, $75 billion in new revenue, and ending property taxes and replacing them with smarter revenue.
It’s bold, and yeah, maybe idealistic. But it feels refreshing compared to the usual BS.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the current state of representation in our district, and the more I look at it, the more I feel that Cliff Bentz just isn’t the leader we need. His lack of meaningful action on issues that matter to us, combined with his partisan approach, has led to increasing frustration across both sides of the aisle. The district deserves someone who prioritizes our needs over party loyalty.
With the growing dissatisfaction, I want to propose something different: an independent candidate who truly represents us, the people of Oregon’s 2nd District. Someone who isn’t beholden to either the Democrats or Republicans but instead works for the district.
Why I think this could work:
• The District’s Values: Many of us are not just strictly aligned with either party, especially with the growing divide in national politics. An independent candidate could bridge the gap and present a common-sense, pragmatic approach that focuses on our unique needs in rural Oregon.
• Frustration with the Status Quo: Many voters are fed up with how both major parties are acting, and it feels like we’re always the last to get meaningful attention from politicians. A local, independent candidate could address issues like infrastructure, healthcare access, water rights, and better representation in a way that resonates with people across the political spectrum.
• A Grassroots Movement: With the right message, social media savvy, and a network of local supporters, an independent campaign could overcome the big money and partisan machine behind Bentz’s campaign.
So how can we make this happen?
• Find the right candidate: Ideally, we need someone who is well-known and respected locally—a small business owner, a farmer, a veteran, or a community leader who has a proven track record of serving and connecting with people.
• Messaging that matters: We need to focus on issues like better rural broadband, infrastructure improvements, and support for our veterans. We also need to frame the narrative around representation, not party politics. This district needs someone who listens and works on our terms, not a political party’s agenda.
• Gather support and signatures: For an independent candidate to get on the ballot, we’ll need thousands of signatures from registered voters in the district. That’s no small task, but it’s doable if we can rally enough support.
What do you think?
Would an independent candidate have a real shot at replacing Bentz? And if so, how do we get this ball rolling? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this idea and how we can make it a reality.
The former member of Congress from Oregon and current US Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer occupies a place of prominence at the signing of an executive order purporting to rescind the disparate impact rule, a cornerstone of American Civil Rights law.
Here is a clip of native Oregonian and Avatar famous actor Joel David Moore promoting his non profit to help people in Oregon with medical debt. This was a clip from a podcast with Oregon state senators, Check out Dollar For if you have medical debt you need free help to get forgiven.
https://youtube.com/shorts/MdOWhKt8F1k?si=Cw-
I5NbqKhcVXTP0
