State lawmakers must prioritize Oregon’s working families and those left behind during the pandemic. While corporate profits skyrocket, our state has serious issues affecting everyday Oregonians that must be addressed. Every county in the state is a child care desert due to a lack of support for parents and child care providers, especially parents and providers of color. Oregon has the highest rate of addiction in the country because of historic underinvestment in treatment service staffing that has only gotten worse since the pandemic. And our state workforce at the Oregon State Hospital, with the Department of Corrections, and almost every other facility and worksite are buckling under high demand while lacking meaningful recruitment and retention policies to compete with higher wages in the private sector.

We can and must do better and the revenues should be used strategically and swiftly in order to grow our economy. The state legislature must fully fund the $100 million Child Care Investment package, fund the Behavioral Health Provider Relief Program at the highest level, and start to invest in the state’s workforce to provide the high level of services Oregonians expect and deserve.

Oregon AFSCME believes in economic and social justice for all Oregon workers and their families. Our mission is to empower and unite workers to create change in their workplaces and communities.