Candice Williams, FAFO Executive Director, joined hundreds to demand our lawmakers put us first. At the Fight For Our Future rally, community called on the Oregon legislature to rein in President Trump’s tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy to protect funding for healthcare, childcare, education, and other critical services that Oregonians rely on.
Disconnect from Trumps’ HR 1 bill and protect Oregonians from the impending impact of these tax cuts for the rich. The ultra-wealthy and corporations do not need any more tax cuts. Oregon is perfectly capable of preventing further cuts; to do that, we must stop prioritizing tax giveaways for corporations and the wealthiest. Working families and our future generations need our lawmakers to show up and do something.
HUNDREDS GATHER IN SALEM, CALLING ON LAWMAKERS TO CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES AND PROTECT HEALTHCARE, SCHOOLS, AND MORE
Salem, Ore. — Several hundred gathered in Salem today to urge lawmakers to rein in tax loopholes for the ultra-wealthy to prevent massive cuts to childcare and healthcare, food assistance, public safety, schools, and other critical programs.
“Families can’t just wait and hope that things get better. They can’t afford the basics NOW. It is simply wrong to consider cutting essential services like education, homecare, child welfare, and maintaining the beauty of Oregon without first stopping these giveaways to the rich. If anything, it’s time that they start paying their fair share,” said Johnny Earl, President of SEIU Local 503.
State agencies have been directed to propose reductions to their budgets in response to a massive budget deficit created by new tax breaks for large corporations and the ultra-wealthy, signed into law by President Trump and replicated automatically into Oregon’s tax code.
Andrea Williams, President of Oregon Food Bank, said: “The task before us grows each day. Visits to our food assistance sites have increased by 51% over the last 2 years. That was 2.9 million visits to the Oregon Food Bank Network last year. It feels like we wake up every day and ask, when will the cruelty end?”
Cuts being considered would force mid-year school cuts, result in major losses in our childcare, firefighting, public safety, and behavioral health work force, construction jobs, clean energy jobs, and more.
“These cuts are happening in real time, impacting our students across the state,” said Enrique Farrera, President of the Oregon Education Association. “There is no world in which we can expect better outcomes for our students when educators are losing their jobs while billionaires line their pockets.”
Kate Oldfield, President of AFSCME sub-local 2376-002 and a Correctional Counselor with the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC), said: “If we have to rebalance the state budget in a way that cuts funding from public safety, my job will be even less safe. Fewer staff will create a devastating impact on the safety of DOC workers and the Adults in Custody that we care for.”
“If I had not been able to access the Employment Related Daycare Program (ERDC), I would not have been able to afford to provide for my child,” said Makayla Towry, a recipient of the Employment Related Daycare Program (ERDC). “I’m grateful to have had the resource during this last year, and I also realize there are others who have been waiting for funding to be reinstated so they can have access to the same help.”
“Imagine, if you will, how bewildering it was for me to learn about my layoff less than 24 hours after submitting grades for 840 students. How difficult it was for me to sit down with my three children—two high schoolers and a UO student, to tell them that I was going to lose my job,” said Mike Urbancic, President of the American Association of University Professors of Oregon. “Are Oregon students getting the education they deserve? They face rising tuition, increased student loan debt, larger class sizes, and fewer course offerings—making it harder to complete their degrees on schedule.”
“In the past year, we have already seen nearly 10% of classified employees at Portland Public Schools laid off. We have lost beloved faculty, staff, and graduate employees at the University of Oregon, at PSU, and at schools, community colleges, and universities across Oregon,” said Thea Cooper, Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers – Oregon.
Photos of the event can be found here.
Learn more about Fight for Our Future Coalition at forourfutureoregon.com.
Contact: Kelsey Paden, Interim Executive Director, Our Oregon