OSEA’s activism is, and always has been, member-driven. We focus on shaping state laws and policies that impact schools, educators and all workers. These are the issues that impact OSEA members most of all; the issues on which we are the experts with real, day-to-day experience, and where we can and do make a difference.
The Oregon Legislature holds a long session in odd-numbered years, so we pushed hard this year to see our priorities through. Members flooded the halls of the State Capitol with OSEA blue during Legislative Education Day (LED) in March. We testified in dozens of committee hearings. We told member stories continuously to those in power.
Midway through the session, state economists released a dismal revenue prediction that ended up sinking many important bills this year, but we still won victories for education, labor and OSEA members throughout the state.
Governor Tina Kotek led the push for a record investment in public education, boosting the budget for the State School Fund (SSF) by more than 11 percent over the last two-year budget. The Legislature also overhauled the funding formula and the distribution of the SSF to allow for stable budgeting by districts.
We also won recognition for our work: Oregon will begin collecting data on the entire education workforce, instead of only teachers. Currently, the state has no accurate data on the number and types of jobs held by classified school employees – who make up more than half of the state’s education workforce. Getting decision-makers to collect this kind of data is the first step to ensuring equity in pay and benefits across the state.
Labor groups including OSEA fought for protection against anti-union solicitation this session. Groups sending deceptive mail (print or digital) can see civil penalties if the targeted union can prove that members were tricked into dropping their membership unintentionally. We also shifted the balance of power by securing up to 10 weeks of unemployment insurance for striking workers. This is an invaluable safety net for chapters facing difficult rounds of negotiations – after all, supervisors and managers receive their salaries throughout strikes, even if the escalation was caused by their own refusal to negotiate.
Legislators loved reading and literacy this session! Summer learning programs will get a boost through new grants available for programs that support literacy or other academic achievements. Lawmakers also passed protection for diverse educational materials, allowing students to receive an education grounded in scholastic merit and inclusive values, not prejudice. The bill prevents book bans and censorship based on race, national origin, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, physical or mental disability, military status or marital/family status.
Budget constraints and inaccurately steep cost projections led to losses for two of OSEA’s priority bills. We significantly raised awareness for our safety reporting bill – seven additional lawmakers signed on to the bill after hearing member stories during LED – but ultimately, the Legislature couldn’t find funding for the system. Similarly, legislators were told that our study of classified job titles and descriptions would cost an exorbitant amount of money, despite strong evidence that it would actually cost much less, and it failed to pass.
A more comprehensive review of the education and labor wins and losses this session is coming soon! Keep an eye out for our 2025 Legislative Report this fall.