Portland Jobs with Justice

In an era when fascist politicians are carrying out a full-scale assault on democracy and equality, we remain committed to unconditional solidarity with those who resist. As has been true throughout history and across the world, when the labor movement is engaged in the fight against authoritarianism, working people have the power to fight back and win.

The most important labor story of 2026 has been the way rank-and-file workers and union members built one of the most effective grassroots networks of the 21st century to defend their neighbors from Donald Trump’s cruel campaign of mass deportation and militarized ICE raids.

We watched unions like SEIU, AFT, and CWA come together to build networks of mutual aid, support community members forced underground, and defend schools and other public institutions from federal intrusion. In Minneapolis, these efforts helped spark a General Strike that brought more than 300,000 workers into collective action, alongside consumer boycotts and education strikes. This marked a turning point. Resistance to an immediate threat helped build the relationships, confidence, and infrastructure necessary for the many fights ahead to improve the lives of working people.

Now those same activists are facing unprecedented repression for speaking out, organizing their neighbors, and daring to dissent. Fifteen rank-and-file union members have been arrested and charged with a sweeping list of offenses carrying the possibility of decades in prison. This appears to be a test case by the Trump administration to determine whether it can further criminalize resistance movements and treat civil action as terrorism, much as it attempted to do in the recent Prairieland case. We consider this an attack on all of us, and, especially, an attack on the labor movement since these workers were singled out because their activism came from a position of strength. If we find tactics that work, those threatened by worker power will try to make them illegal. Their indictments even mention the general strike, and they singled out leading rank-and-file workers who have become active in moving their unions towards collective action. It’s our effectiveness that they are attempting to destroy, but also hoping that fear will dissuade our solidarity.

Now is the time to act and speak out. As a labor organization, we believe worker solidarity is the foundation of everything we do. What is happening to these workers in Minneapolis could happen to any of us. We pledge to support these defendants in every way we can and encourage our coalition partners to pass resolutions of support and prepare to take action in solidarity with these courageous union activists.

We will continue supporting the Minneapolis Fifteen however we can, including participating in a global day of action if and when one is called and helping connect coalition members to fundraising efforts in support of the defendants. This is only the beginning of what will likely be a long fight, but every union and community organization that speaks out strengthens our collective ability to confront this alarming escalation of authoritarian repression.

In collaboration with CHIPS Communities United, Portland Jobs with Justice will be hosting Toxic Roots of the Silicon Forest: People, Power, and Pollution in the Semiconductor Industry on June 3rd and 4th! Hear from semiconductor workers, community leaders, and environmental organizers on the impact of semiconductor manufacturing in our backyard and the far-reaching influence of this industry.

If you’re fired up about the rapid expansion of data centers creating short-term solutions for workers while harming our environment or Big Tech expecting our taxpayer dollars to fund their land grabs while they lay off our neighbors, this is for you!

Join us on June 3rd for a welcome reception and a screening of Colorless, Odorless, a documentary by Korean director Eunhee Lee, illuminating the experiences of Taiwanese and Korean workers in semiconductor manufacturing’s clean rooms, and on June 4th for the Toxic Roots of the Silicon Forest conference!

Film Screening: 6:00-9:00 PM* on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at PSU

Conference: 9:00 AM-6:00 PM* on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at PSU

*exact schedule to be announced

RSVP today to secure your spot!

Join us for JWJ’s 2026 Faith Labor Breakfast: Standing Together with our Immigrant Neighbors

The Portland Jobs with Justice Executive Board Releases the following statement calling for an end to the unaccountable violence unleashed by ICE and federal agents. Through the collective power of labor and community united, we can shut them down and build justice for our communities.

THEY ARE KILLING US. WE MUST SHUT THEM DOWN.

Alex Pretti should be checking patients’ vitals today. Renee Good should be hugging her children. Keith Porter, Jr. should be welcoming the new year. Instead, they are dead—murdered by an agency that operates without accountability on American soil.

Alex Pretti is the ninth person killed by ICE operations this year alone. He joins a list of martyrs that grows by the hour: Renee Good, Parady La, Heber Sanchez Dominguez, Victor Manuel Diaz, Luis Beltran Yanez Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Keith Porter, Jr.

Last year, 2025, was the deadliest year in ICE’s history. 31 people died in ICE cages. Another 22 died in the hands of CBP. These are not just statistics. Each of these 53 people belonged to a family and a community. They brought joy to the lives of those around them, and their lives were stolen by a government that views them as disposable.

We are past the time for “concern.” We are in a state of emergency, and we must use our collective rage to mobilize.

Make no mistake: ICE is functioning exactly as it was designed. Established in the shadow of 9/11, it systematized the targeting of Muslim and immigrant communities, drawing on a long history of discriminatory policing in this country. It is an agency fundamentally rooted in exclusion, now weaponized by an administration that seeks to criminalize our neighbors for simply existing.

To our friends in the labor movement and our allies across the country: Immigrants are our union members, our coworkers and our neighbors. As organizations dedicated to the uplift of working people, together we must build the collective power to defend each other.  Words of condemnation are a necessary start, but we have the collective strength to do so much more. Together, we have the ability to lay down our tools and disrupt the logistics that keep this machinery running. We are not powerless observers; workers are the engine of this country. Let us use that strength to protect our communities when they need us most.

The bare minimum is the immediate abolition of ICE and an end to Department of Homeland Security funding. But until that happens, we are done asking politely. We are done negotiating with kidnappers and murderers.

We are united and we are mobilizing.

ICE OUT NOW.

Are you angry about rising authoritarianism? Concerned about ICE assaults on your neighborhood? Ready to move beyond rallies and into real organizing?

Join us for our 1st annual Solidarity School – a free day of learning, connection, and strategic action.

Through hands-on workshops led by experienced organizers and community leaders, we’ll explore:

• Building lasting power in our communities
• Strengthening relationships across movements and neighborhoods
• Identifying and confronting the systems and actors driving authoritarianism
• Developing concrete strategies for the fights ahead

You’ll leave with practical tools, new connections, and concrete strategies to build power and fight back.

What’s Included:

• Multiple workshop tracks (full schedule coming soon)
• Lunch provided
• Free childcare available
• Spanish language interpretation

Saturday, January 24th from 10am – 5pm
Space is limited – Click here to secure your spot!

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