Time is a mystery. Somehow, it has been less than two months since we were all together at Conference 2026, and at the same time, we are already heading into another busy back-to-school season. It has been quite a summer for OSEA!
We are heading into the 2026-27 year with a clear direction from our members: we need to stabilize and grow our membership and make sure OSEA is strong for the future.
Nearly 300 delegates came together at Conference in June and, after a lot of thoughtful discussion, made the decision to strategically invest some of OSEA’s reserves back into our union and our members. That means putting real resources behind organizing and outreach in chapters across the state.
And we have a big goal. By Conference 2027, we are committed to growing our statewide membership by seven percent while building the organizing structure we need to keep growing long after this year is over.
That isn’t going to happen by accident. It is going to take all of us being deliberate, dedicated and determined. We are building on what we already know works in OSEA, while also learning from unions across the country that are finding new ways to organize workers and build power.
And we didn’t waste any time getting started.
Earlier this month, we held two multi-day trainings for member organizers. The first brought together our inaugural group of Member Organizing Fellows. Thirty OSEA members from chapters across the state have stepped up to take on this new role. In addition to the jobs they already do every day as education employees, they will work part-time over the next three to six months helping chapters organize, have conversations with coworkers and grow our union.
We also brought back the Member Organizing Summer Institute (MOSI) for the first time since 2017! MOSI was four packed days of learning, practicing, connecting and building the skills members can take home and put to work in their own chapters. You can read more about MOSI and our Organizing Fellows in this issue of the Journal.
But trainings and plans only get us so far. The real work happens in our chapters. It always has.
Chapter leaders and field staff have been working together on organizing plans built around what we know works: one-on-one conversations with coworkers, strong new employee orientations, and building networks of worksite organizers and stewards.
That last part is especially important. Unions grow because people talk to people. A coworker asking another coworker to join their union will always be one of the most powerful organizing tools we have.
And chapter leaders, you aren't expected to do this alone. We have more resources and more people ready to help. Our newly trained Organizing Fellows are part of that support. Talk with your Field Representative, reach out to the State Office, and tell us what your chapter needs.
I am incredibly excited to see what our members do with this investment in ourselves over the next year.
Using our reserves was not a small decision. But I said it at Conference and I believe it just as strongly today: we don't collect dues to grow our bank account. We collect dues to grow our worker power.
We have spent years building a financially strong organization so that when our members need us, we have the ability to act. This is that moment.
The seven-percent goal matters. But this work is about more than hitting a number by next June. It is about building stronger chapters, developing more member leaders, having more conversations, bringing more coworkers into our union and leaving behind an organizing structure that will continue to grow OSEA for years to come.
We have a lot of work ahead of us. But we also have thousands of members across Oregon who know what can happen when working people stand together.
I can't wait to see the OSEA that we build together.