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All workers – including farmworkers – deserve the right to organize
For most of us, Labor Day is a day of well-earned leisure, a time to celebrate the contributions of workers. But not everyone gets to rest on this day. Because the holiday arrives during the harvest season, many Oregon workers will be toiling in the fields to keep food flowing to our tables. The sacrifice […]
Subsidies to semiconductor companies are ineffective: Invest in the workforce instead
Forests grow best in healthy soil. The same goes for Oregon’s Silicon Forest, the state’s high-tech cluster. Its soil is the infrastructure and skilled workforce that allows the industry to thrive. That is why, in putting together a package of incentives to attract semiconductor manufacturers, the Oregon Legislature should resist calls for direct subsidies to […]
Reforms could help Oregon families missing out on millions in tax credits
Tax Day has now passed. And many low-paid working families missed an opportunity to make their life a bit easier. Year in, year out, Oregon ranks at or near the bottom nationally in the share of families qualifying for the earned income tax credit who actually claim it. That’s bad news not only for the […]
Oregon workers earning the lowest wages would benefit hugely from one-time state help
The experience of the current pandemic has taught us some valuable public policy lessons. One of those is that cash payments work. Providing cash directly to low-wage families struggling to make ends meet eases economic hardship and improves well-being. The Oregon Legislature now has an opportunity to apply this lesson and lift up underpaid Oregonians. […]
Legal help for undocumented workers would benefit them – but also Oregon’s economy
A little over a year ago, when much of the economy remained shut due to the Covid pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a memo outlining the jobs “essential” to the nation’s “critical infrastructure.” When researchers examined those categories, they discovered that undocumented workers are much more likely to perform essential work than […]