Oregon is justly proud, for example, that in 1971 it was the first state to pass a bottle bill to address the growing problem of litter from beverage containers and to encourage recycling.
Other times being first is an abomination.
That will be the case if Oregon Gov. Kotek signs SB 916, which would award up to ten weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to workers who go on strike.
The Oregon Employment Department (OED) anticipates that the bill would result in an additional $2.1 million of benefit payments in the 2025-27 biennium. Critics of the bill say this doesn’t take into account the likelihood of longer and more frequent strikes if workers can count on some income while striking.
The whole concept of strikes is an assumption that the loss of income for workers and the loss of production by employers will motivate an eventual settlement. SB 916 would change that whole dynamic, putting employers at a disadvantage. Equally egregious, because the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is funded through a payroll tax that is paid by employers, Oregon employers would be paying workers not to work.
What makes their strong support for this bill particularly egregious is that it is aimed at benefiting an extremely small portion of the labor force, but a sector that overwhelmingly favors the Democrats in campaign contributions.
In 2024, just 15.9% of wage and salary workers in Oregon were union members, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dig deeper and you find that the union membership rate for public sector workers in Oregon, about 51%, is considerably higher. That is consistent across the country, where unionization is about five times higher nationwide in the public sector compared with the private sector.
Supporters of SB 916 often try to bolster their cause by alluding to the fact that New York and New Jersey already allow unemployment benefits to be paid to strikers, but they neglect to mention that both states bar public employees, such as teachers, from striking.
No wonder the bill has drawn across-the-board opposition from businesses and public entities, including already stretched local governments and school districts.
Earlier in the process, two Senate Democrats, Jeff Golden, D-Ashland and Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, showed praiseworthy wisdom in voting against the bill. “Counties, cities and schools are scrambling to just maintain current services,” Sollman said. “Now is not the time to be adding more uncertainty and more expenses.”
Both senators subsequently changed their minds and voted for a scaled back bill, but Sollman’s statement is still valid. As Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said, “This is bad policy. It’s going to be harmful to our students. It’s going to be harmful to the state.”
Despite the financial strains facing Oregon, and even the likely diversion of kicker money to address forest fires, Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat with strong ties to labor, has said she plans to sign the bill.
“I know the argument has been that this will be highly detrimental to our school districts,” Kotek said in a June 9 media availability. “I don’t particularly believe that is an accurate assessment of that bill and at the end of the day I support the right of folks to strike and I believe the way the bill is drafted we will actually see shorter strikes.”
Shana McConville Radford of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation has joined Gov. Tina Kotek’s administration as Oregon’s first Tribal Affairs Director.
Shana McConville Radford
I have a job for her.
Tackle the embarrassingly poor academic achievement and embarrassingly high absenteeism rates of K-12 American Indian and Alaska Native students in Oregon.[1]
Some truth-telling is essential here. It is painfully clear that Oregon’s schools are failing these young people and that somebody needs a good kick in the shins to set things right.
We need to give kids, all kids, the tools they need to make their own way. Allowing academic failure is not the way to do that.
The numbers from tests given during the 2022-2023 school year tell the story. A predominant share of the American Indian/Alaska Native students taking the tests were American Indian.
All the academic achievement numbers come from reams of data posted online by the Oregon Department of Education showing downloadable files of state assessment results in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science. Absenteeism figures come from data posted online by the Oregon Department of Education in Annual Performance Progress Reports on Attendance and Absenteeism.
Some of the more egregious low proficiency scores were at districts that also have chronic student absenteeism, defined by the Oregon Department of Education as absent from school for more than 10% of the academic year.
The Department requires that there be no fewer than 265 consecutive calendar days between the first and last instructional day of each school year at each grade level, so missing 10% of school days would mean missing at least 26 days.
It’s a lot of numbers, but they are worth examining closely..
Subject
Student Group
Grade Level
Percent Proficient
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
All Grades
25.6
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 3
20.5
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 4
24.0
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 5
27.2
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 6
22.1
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 7
28.7
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 8
25.6
English Language Arts
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade HS (11)
31.1
Subject
Student Group
Grade Level
Percent Proficient
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
All Grades
13.6
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 3
22.2
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 4
18.2
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 5
14.7
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 6
10.0
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 7
13.7
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 8
10.9
Mathematics
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade HS (11)
5.7
Subject
Student Group
Grade Level
Percent Proficient
Science
American Indian/Alaskan Native
All Grades
16.3
Science
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 5
14.1
Science
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade 8
14.7
Science
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Grade HS (11)
20.8
A review of the performance of American Indian/Alaska Native students at individual districts is also revealing.
The details below show all Oregon school districts reporting enrollment of American Indian/Alaska Native students, in all grades, 2022-2023 and the % of students proficient of those tested.
Not all districts administered the Science test. Less than 5% means fewer than 5% of students who took the test achieved Level 3 or 4 / Meets or Exceeds. Absenteeism rates for American Indian/Alaska Native students in selected districts are also noted.
Athena-Weston SD 29RJ
English language arts. 40%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
Beaverton SD 48J
English language arts. 43.3%
Mathematics. 31.8%
Science. 21.2%
Bend-LaPine Administrative SD 1
English language arts. 33.3%
Mathematics. 31.3%
Science. 36.8%
Bethel SD 52
English language arts. 25.9%
Mathematics. 20.8%
Science. 9.1%
Brookings-Harbor SD 17C
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
Science. 27.3%
Cascade SD 5
English language arts. 42.9%
Mathematics. 21.4%
Science. 20%
Centennial SD 28J
English language arts. 17.4%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
Central Point SD 6
English language arts. 32.1%
Mathematics. 17.9%
Central SD 13J
English language arts. 31.3%
Mathematics. 5.9%
Coos Bay SD 9
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. 8.9%
Science. 25%
Corvallis SD 509J
English language arts. Less than 5%
Mathematics. 8.3%
Creswell SD 40
English language arts. 30.8%
Mathematics. 21.4%
Crook County SD
English language arts. 26.3%
Mathematics. 16.7%
Dallas SD 2
English language arts. 29.5%
Mathematics. 14.8%
Science. 12.2%
David Douglas SD 40
English language arts. 16.1%
Mathematics. 10.0%
Science. 9.1%
Dufur SD 29
English language arts. 10.5%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
Eagle Point SD 9
English language arts. 47.4%
Mathematics. 31.6%
Science. 40%
Eugene SD 4J
English language arts. 37.8%
Mathematics. 31.6%
Science. 38.5%
Forest Grove SD 15
English language arts. 25.0%
Mathematics. 16.7%
Grants Pass SD 7
English language arts. 50%
Mathematics. 7.1%
Greater Albany Public SD 8J
English language arts. 26.7%
Mathematics. 21.4%
Science. 27.3%
Gresham-Barlow SD 10J
English language arts. 35.5%
Mathematics. 17.2%
Science. 28.6%
Harney County SD 3
English language arts. 13.3%
Mathematics. 6.7%
Hillsboro SD 1J
English language arts. 32.6%
Mathematics. 23.3%
Science. 13.6%
Hood River County SD
English language arts. 29.4%
Mathematics. 5.9%
Jefferson County SD 509J
English language arts. 17.5%
Mathematics. 6.4%.
Science. 8.4%
NOTE. 49.7% of American Indian/Alaska Native students in Jefferson County SD 509J were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year.
Junction City SD 69
English language arts. 60%
Mathematics. 30%
Klamath County SD
English language arts. 27.1%
Mathematics. 14.6%
Science. 17%
NOTE: 38.5% of the American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Klamath County SD were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year..
Klamath Falls City Schools
English language arts. 20.8% proficient
Mathematics. 11.3%
Science. 9.1%
NOTE: 69.5% of American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Klamath Falls City Schools district were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year.
Lincoln County SD
English language arts. 16.5%
Mathematics. 5.9%
Science. 9.3%.
NOTE: 57.9% of the American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Lincoln County SD were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year.
McMinnville SD 40
English language arts. 45.9%
Mathematics. 40%
Science. 47.1%
Medford SD 549C
English language arts. 51.3%
Mathematics. 21.1%
Science. 29.4%
Molalla River SD 35
English language arts. 16.7%
Mathematics. 15.4%
Myrtle Point SD 41
English language arts. 30%
Mathematics. 10%
Newberg SD 29J
English language arts. Less than 5%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
North Bend SD 13
English language arts. 32%
Mathematics. 36%
Science. 33.3%
North Clackamas SD 12
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. 17.6%
Science. 10%
North Wasco County SD 21
English language arts. 26.1%
Mathematics. 8.7%
Science. 9.1%
Oregon Trail SD 46
English language arts. 42.9%
Mathematics. 28.6%
Pendleton SD 16
English language arts. 27.8%
Mathematics. 9.1%
Science. 14%
NOTE: 51.3% of the American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Pendleton SD 16 district were chronically absent. in the 2022-23 school year.
Phoenix-Talent SD 4
English language arts. 9.1%
Mathematics. Less than 5%
Portland SD 1J
English language arts. 17.2%
Mathematics. 11.6%
Science. 15.2%
NOTE: 66.1% of the American Indian/Alaska Native students in the Portland SD 1J district were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year.
Redmond SD 2J
English language arts. 40.0%
Mathematics. 26.7%
Reynolds SD 7
English language arts. 23.3%
Mathematics. 13.3%
Science. Less than 5%
Salem-Keizer SD 24J
English language arts. 21.8%
Mathematics. 8.5%.
Science. 18.3%
NOTE: 58.2% of the American Indian/Alaska Native students in Salem-Keizer SD 24J district were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year.
Santiam Canyon SD 129J
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. 20%
Sheridan SD 48J
English language arts. 12.9%
Mathematics. 6.7%
Science. Less than 5%
South Lane SD 45J3
English language arts. 12.5%
Mathematics. 12.5%
South Umpqua SD 19
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. 10%
Springfield SD 19
English language arts. 31.4%
Mathematics. 13.9%
Science. 29.4%
St Helens SD 502
English language arts. 18.8%
Mathematics. 6.7%
Sutherlin SD 130
English language arts. 13.3%
Mathematics. 13.3%
Three Rivers/Josephine County SD
English language arts. 27.9%
Mathematics. 11.6%
Science. 5.3%t
Tigard-Tualatin SD 23J
English language arts. 33.3%
Mathematics. 33.3%
Umatilla SD 6R
English language arts. 20%
Mathematics. 10%
Willamina SD 30J
English language arts. 25.4%
Mathematics. 8.7%
Science. Less than 5%
Winston-Dillard SD 116
English language arts. 23.1%
Mathematics. 16.7%
[1] American Indian/Alaskan Native– As defined by the Oregon Department of Education, includes all students identified as having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and not Hispanic.
ThinkingOregon 