Portland Jobs with Justice

We are bringing back our Workers’ Rights Board to hear from Labcorp workers, providers, and experts about how conditions inside this for-profit lab are impacting patient care — and why these workers are fighting for their first contract. Join us Thursday, Dec 11 at 6pm! RSVP Here.

Background: Labcorp is a for-profit corporation that buys and runs hospital labs. They understaff them and underpay their employees with negative consequences for patient care. This is happening at multiple hospitals around Portland where Labcorp continues to rebuff efforts by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals to improve conditions.

Concerned about this situation, the JWJ Workers’ Rights Board invites the community to a hearing on conditions at Labcorp facilities and ways to encourage productive negotiations between the union and Labcorp representatives. The panel will hear testimony from medical experts, lab workers, patients, and union representatives.

Thursday, December 11th from 6 – 8pm
Portland State University – Smith Student Union (1825 SW Broadway Rm 327/8
RSVP Here

Portland Rising is excited to invite you to a FREE showing of:

“Partners, How Starbucks Baristas Started a Labor Revolution”

Sunday, November 2, 3-5 pm

5^th Avenue Cinema

510 SW Hall Street, Portland, Oregon

The film, produced by Working Films, a national nonprofit organization based in North Carolina, tells the story of how a group of baristas in Buffalo, New York came together to form a labor union and the elaborate and illegal campaign Starbucks management waged against them.  Featuring on-the-ground footage from workers and organizers, Partners takes us behind the scenes of the union campaign.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q/A session with Chris Sessions, the film maker, and two Portland-area Starbucks Workers United union members.

The event offers a chance for community members to learn more about the history of the union, local organizing efforts, and the status of ongoing contract negotiations.  Come learn about the Starbucks struggle and how you can support it!

On the current moment, the Portland Jobs with Justice Executive Board issues the following statement:

After President Donald Trump publicly ordered National Guard troops to suppress political activity in Portland, Portland Jobs With Justice joined activists from across the city in rallying against state violence at the local ICE facility on the South Waterfront. Although protesters remained nonviolent, federal officers and police in military fatigues physically attacked the crowd, spraying chemical agents directly into the eyes of Portland Jobs With Justice Executive Director Tyler Fellini.

“Our sister organizations, D.C. JwJ and Chicago JwJ were the first to bear the brunt of the federal crackdown and now Portland finds itself in the crosshairs,” says Fellini, who notes that when he saw a member of the Portland Association of Teachers being assaulted he stepped in to support him before being sprayed with pepper spray himself.

Fellini was joined by members and leaders from across Portland Jobs With Justice’s coalition, including major education, healthcare, and public employee unions. This act of violence underscores why Portland Jobs With Justice remains steadfast in rejecting calls to deploy National Guard troops in our city, why we support the City initiating a land use process to reconsider the permit authorizing ICE’s facilities, and why we ultimately demand the abolition of ICE and the violent deportations, detentions, and disappearances it carries out. The use of chemical agents is one more reason why residents—especially those living near the ICE facility—are calling on the city to revoke the permit, given the grave public health risks created by ICE’s presence.

We will continue to stand with unions and community organizations across Portland to build a movement of direct opposition to any federal incursion into our city. We demand that officials hold federal institutions and local police units accountable for their use of force and brutality. Portland Jobs With Justice commits to sponsoring coalition actions aimed at ending ICE arrests and preventing the use of federal military troops in our streets. We believe this is one of the most urgent labor issues of our time, as workers and organizers throughout our community face spurious arrests and violent repression while the Trump administration seeks to use these threats to suppress collective action to build a just and equitable society where workers and communities thrive.

Portland Jobs with Justice’s 33rd Annual Dinner
Thursday, September 25, 2025 from 6:30 – 8:30pm
World Forestry Center Miller Hall
4033 SW Canyon Rd., Portland OR 97221
TICKETS: bit.ly/2025-dinner
Or click banner below!

We are pleased to announce that we’ll be joined by Ms. Marcia Howard, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, who will be giving the keynote address. Marcia played a key leadership role in MFT’s historic 2022 strike, which led to substantial wage increases for MPS’s classified staff and the largest teacher pay raise this century. Her activism also extends beyond the classroom and picket line. For five years, Marcia Howard and a group of neighbors have been the chief stewards of George Floyd Square. Her experiences as a Black woman from the south, as an educator, and as a community organizer make her voice a powerful one in the labor movement. You won’t want to miss this!

We appreciate our member organizations and other sponsors already pledging support:

Join us for an evening of celebration, reflection, and recommitment as we honor victories from across our movement and build momentum for the fights ahead!

JWJ’s art exhibition & auction will run September 6 – 12th
One Grand Gallery (1000 E Burnside St)
Opening Night Party with DJ Yoitsvo:
Saturday, September 6th at 8pm

Want to help us with the art installation? Looking for a couple folks who can commit to help hang art from 10am – 2pm on Saturday, September 6th!  Email sarah@jwjpdx.org if this can be you. 

Thursday, September 25, 2025 • from 6:30 – 8:30PM
Location: World Forestry Center | Miller Hall • 4033 SW Canyon Rd., Portland, OR 97221 US
TICKETS HERE: bit.ly/2025-dinner

In a year marked by growing attacks on workers, immigrants, trans and queer communities, and the very idea of multiracial democracy, Portland Jobs with Justice remains committed to fighting back—and winning. From local labor victories to bold coalition campaigns, we’ve spent the last year showing that collective power still makes change possible.

Join us for an evening of celebration, reflection, and recommitment as we honor victories from across our movement and build momentum for the fights ahead.

This year’s theme, Bread, Roses, and Resistance, honors the legacy of the labor movement: the fight for fair wages, dignity, joy in our lives, and the power of organized resistance. We gather not just to look back, but to prepare ourselves for what’s next.

Let’s gather in community, raise a glass, and fuel the movement for the year to come!

Masks strongly encouraged when not eating or drinking. Thank you for protecting our communities.
Childcare available upon request—email tyler@jwjpdx.org to arrange.
All other questions/inquiries can also be sent to tyler@jwjpdx.org.