SEATTLE — Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington are considering whether striking workers should receive unemployment benefits, following recent walkouts by Boeing factory workers, hospital nurses and teachers in the Pacific Northwest that highlighted a new era of American labor activism.
Oregon's measure would make it the first state to provide pay for picketing public employees — who aren't allowed to strike in most states, let alone receive benefits for it.
Washington's would pay striking private sector workers for up to 12 weeks, starting after at least two weeks on the line.
“The bottom line is this helps level the playing field,” said Democratic state Sen. Marcus Riccelli, who sponsored Washington's bill. “Without a social safety net during a strike, workers are faced with tremendous pressure to end the strike quickly or never go on strike in the first place.”
Machinist AJ Nelson, who worked for Boeing for six years, demonstrates on the picket line Oct. 23 in Renton, Wash., after union members voted to reject a contract offer from the company.
The bills raise questions about how they would affect employers, especially amid economic uncertainties tied to federal funding cuts and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
“It’s inappropriate to unbalance the bargaining table in a way that forces employers to pay for the costs of a striking worker,” Lindsey Hueer, government affairs director with the Association of Washington Business, told senators during a committee hearing in February. “Unemployment insurance should be a safety net for workers who have no job to return to."
So far only two states, New York and New Jersey, give striking workers unemployment benefits. Senate Democrats in Connecticut revived legislation that would provide financial help for striking workers after the governor vetoed a similar measure last year.
Benefits bills advance but face opposition
The measures in Washington and Oregon were passed by the state Senate of each and are now in the House.
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, pro-labor think tank in Washington, D.C., studied the effects of giving unemployment benefits to striking workers and found it to be good for workers and employers alike, said Daniel Perez, state economic analyst for the organization.
First, he said, lengthy strikes are extremely rare. More than half of U.S. labor strikes end within two days — workers wouldn't receive pay in those cases — and just 14% last more than two weeks. Second, the policy costs very little — less than 1% of unemployment insurance expenditures in every state that considered legislation.
From left, Boeing employees Vance Meyring, Josue Ramirez and Joseph Mellon work the picket line Oct. 23 outside Boeing facilities in Renton, Wash.
Bryan Corliss, spokesperson for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace union, said the big winners would be low-wage workers.
“If low-wage workers had the financial stability to actually go on strike for more than a day or two without risking eviction, we believe that would incentivize companies to actually come to the table and make a deal," he said.
During a hearing in the Washington House labor committee, several Republican lawmakers tried to amend the bill to require striking workers to look for other jobs or to shorten the time covered from 12 weeks to four. The Democratic majority shot down those ideas.
Republican Rep. Suzanne Schmidt said the bill might be good for workers, but it would hurt employers.
“We’ve seen instances of this with the Boeing strike last year for the machinists," she said. "We had 32,000 people on strike at the same time and if this had been in play it would have cost millions of dollars to cover those workers. Boeing did actually lose billions having the workers on strike for several months.”
The Oregon bill, which also would make striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits after two weeks, sparked a similar debate, both among Democratic and Republican lawmakers as well as constituents, with hundreds of people submitting written testimony.
Boeing employees cheer Oct. 23 as a driver honks and waves in support while they work the picket line in Renton, Wash., after union members voted to reject a contract offer from the company.
The state saw two large strikes in recent years: Thousands of nurses and dozens of doctors at Providence's eight Oregon hospitals were on strike for six weeks this year, while a 2023 walkout of Portland Public Schools teachers shuttered schools for over three weeks in the state's largest district.
The Oregon Senate passed the measure largely along party lines, with two Democrats voting against it.
On the Senate floor, Democratic Sen. Janeen Sollman said she worried about the effect on public employers such as school districts, which “do not have access to extra pots of money.” Private employers pay into the state's unemployment trust fund through a payroll tax, but few public employers do, meaning they would have to reimburse the fund for any payments made to their workers.
Democratic Sen. Chris Gorsek, who supported the bill, argued it wouldn't cost public employers more than what they've already budgeted for salaries, as workers aren't paid when they're on strike. Also, those receiving unemployment benefits get at most 65% of their weekly pay, and benefit amounts are capped, according to a document presented to lawmakers by employment department officials.
“Unemployment insurance is partial wage replacement, so unemployment insurance in and of itself is not an additional cost to the employer," Gorsek said. “In fact, the only way Senate Bill 916 would yield additional cost for what was already budgeted by the employer is if the employer decided to hire replacement workers.”
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Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
Cities and states with the biggest female wage gap
Cities and states with the biggest female wage gap
Updated
March is Women's History Month. To honor the occasion, researchers at TruckInfo.net decided to analyze the impact women have had on the labor force, how they are represented across various occupations, the wage gap, and how it's changed over time.
Using data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor, they found the following trends.
1. The Labor Force Continues to Become More Female
Updated
In 1948, women only accounted for 28% of the labor force. While female representation rapidly increased until the early 90s, growth has slowed considerably—from 45% in 1990 to just under 47% in 2023.
2. While Women Make Up Just Under Half of the Labor Force, Many Occupations Are Highly Segregated
Updated
Women have entered the workforce in mass—dominating certain occupations though avoiding others. While women make up more than 97% of preschool and kindergarten teachers, they only represent 2.2% of automotive technicians and mechanics.
Regardless of the cause, women who work full-time make $0.81 for every $1 men who work full-time make. Interestingly, occupations that skew heavily male actually pay women better than occupations that skew heavily female (though the wage gap still persists).
3. The Wage Gap Exists Across the Country—But Not in Every Occupation
Updated
Although the wage gap has become politically charged, there's no denying it exists. Some female academics have pointed out that since most wage gap analyses don't account for things like seniority or hours worked, it doesn't mean there is significant gender discrimination. Still, others counter that those factors are examples of differential treatment or societal expectations.
Female Pay in Female-Dominated Occupations
Updated
Female executive assistants make $1.03 for every dollar a male assistant makes.
Female Pay in Male-Dominated Occupations
Updated
While females in occupations that skew heavily male still have a wage gap, some professions, such as construction, have a smaller wage gap than the national average.
Wage Gap by State
Updated
At the state level, Vermont has the smallest wage gap, while Utah has the largest.
Large Cities With the Largest Wage Gap
Updated
Among large cities, defined as those with populations greater than 350k, El Paso TX has the largest wage gap with female workers only earning 70 cents for every dollar men earn.
Large Cities With the Smallest Wage Gap
Updated
Among cities with populations under 150k, Columbus, Ohio has the smallest wage gap – with female workers earning 93 cents for every dollar men earn.
4. While the Wage Gap Persists, Female Wages Have Grown Faster Than Men's Wages Since 2010
Updated
In Vermont, female wages have grown 136% faster than male wages since 2010. While an outlier, the majority of states have seen female wages grow 120%+ faster than male wages over the same period.
Methodology and Data Sources
Income and employment data was sourced from the Census Bureau. The top and bottom 10 lists for female occupations filtered out occupations with fewer than 10,000 individuals for males and females. Data on the labor force composition over time was sourced from the Department of Labor.
Large cities were defined as cities with a population over 350,000; mid-size cities as populations from 150,000-349,999; and small cities as populations under 150,000.
This story was produced by TruckInfo.net and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.