News

PORTLAND, OR - Four months after a flawed implementation of the Workday payroll system, errors continue to plague Oregon’s state employees.

In exactly one month from now, we’ll come together as a union at the Salem Convention Center, conduct business to help make our union stronger and learn valuable insights from each other to take ba

The Michael Arken Scholarship

     In 2018 the chapter established the Michael Arken scholarship to honor the chapter’s founding President and long-time leader.

         Every year a $1,000.00 award is made to a student who is a relative of an AFSCME member.

         The winner is selected by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission for the Oregon Student Access Completion on behalf of the chapter. 

         To date scholarships have been awarded to:

2018 – 2019    Opal Richenberg

2019 – 2020    Kiera Dwyer

Dear Michael Arken and Oregon AFSCME Council,

Thank you so much for your continued support. I can tell by how much you have invested in my education that you believe in my ability to become someone great using my education.

Without this scholarship, it would be hard to find transportation to and from work and school. Time can be constrained by money, so you are helping me reach my goal of using my time to research environmental issues, explore my hobbies, and participate in on campus organizations and clubs.

PORTLAND, OR - Workers at JOIN, a social service organization that supports people experiencing homelessness in their transition to permanent housing, and JOIN leadership announced in a unified statement, the voluntary recognition of the JOIN Workers Union with Oregon AFSCME.

“This is one of many recent transitions at JOIN that we believe will strengthen us as an
organization and put us in a position to support the needs of staff and our community” the joint statement said.

AFSCME wholeheartedly supports the newly reintroduced Richard Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which would make it easier for workers in the private sector to form strong unions. 

Understaffing of state and local government jobs has hit crisis levels.

Workers At New Avenues For Youth File for Union Representation With AFSCME

PORTLAND, OR - A strong majority of the over 130 eligible staff at New Avenues For Youth, a nonprofit focused on preventing and intervening in cases of youth homelessness, submitted union authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Next, workers will vote on whether to form their union with Oregon AFSCME in late March or early April.