The Portland Tribune Highlights the Experiences of Tradeswomen

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Portland Tribune reporter, Peter Korn, contacted OTI’s Communications Manager, Mary Ann Naylor, around the middle of June, 2016. He was working on a story exploring the terms misogyny and sexism, and how women in different occupations might experience either or both on the job. One of the people he was interviewing for his story about misogyny suggested that he really needed to get the perspective of tradeswomen, so he called Mary Ann.

Mary Ann referred Peter to Jenna Smith, an OTI TACC Graduate who attained her journeyman card as a power line tree trimmer, and later – after a fight – attained a second journey man card as a lineworker. After speaking with Jenna about her experiences, he was ignited to share her story more fully. Peter contacted Mary Ann to let her know he was embarking on another journalistic project to document some of the experiences of tradeswomen into a multi-part story to run in consecutive weeks. Mary Ann was, of course, more than happy to support the development of these stories by connecting him to tradeswomen, industry contacts, and providing photos to help fully tell the stories.

Oregon Tradeswomen is incredibly thankful to Mr. Korn for his thoroughness and attention to detail in developing these pieces. These are important stories and many have never been shared publicly before now.

Week 1:  Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Is today’s misogyny a ‘different, darker animal,’ or more of same ‘ol sexism?

Week 2:  Thursday, June 30, 2016
The Worst Job In Oregon (If You’re A Woman)

Week 3: Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Over the line: harassment keeps women off the job

Week 4: Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Subtle sexism keeps women a step behind
&
Recruiting a better ending for women in the trades

Week 5: Thursday, July 29, 2016
Affirmative action fizzles for women in trades

Guest Blog Post: Ape Caves Hike

Hello! I’m Tiffany Thompson, OTI’s Advocacy Program Manager. I have been having so much fun hanging out with the Tradeswomen from Bitching Hikes and I wanted to share my enthusiasm and invite you to get involved!

Not only do I get to hang out with an amazing group of women but I also get to go on new adventures. For example, I went hiking in a cave! No, more than a cave a lava tube! If you haven’t been to the Ape Caves, I would highly recommend it. And, if you haven’t joined the hiking group yet, it should be your very next step! I am not a huge hiker but this has been a lot of fun. They select easy hikes in beautiful places. So, I hope to see you at the next one.

Join the group on Facebook to be the first to know about upcoming hikes!

Rock against the TPP

fightforthefutureFight for the Future, Firebrand Records, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, and a large coalition of labor, environmental, and social justice groups are organizing Rock Against the TPP, a nationwide series of large-scale educational concert events to raise awareness about the dangers of this agreement.

The tour will be in Portland, OR on August 20th at Director Park with a concert featuring popular punk band Anti-Flag, Golden Globe nominated actress Evangeline Lilly, bilingual dance-rock band Downtown Boys, Shihasin of the Navajo Nation, Afro-Latin reggae vocalist Taina Asili, and more. There will also be a teach-in before the concert and Evangeline Lilly will host a training on How to Fight the TPP on Sunday, August 21st at 1pm at the First Unitarian Church. All events are free, all ages, and wheelchair accessible.

As you likely know, the TPP is a massive trade deal (like NAFTA) that was negotiated in complete secrecy with hundreds of lobbyists from large corporations setting the agenda. It poses a serious threat to our basic democratic process as well as jobs, the environment, internet freedom, human rights, food safety, and more.

Visit Rock Against the TPP for more information.

OTI Endorses Ballot Measure 98

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Every year, at least 10,000 Oregon high school students don’t graduate. Many of those who drop out simply lose interest and disengage. After years of repeated budget cuts to our high schools, many critical learning opportunities have been taken away from Oregon students. Ballot Measure 98 would change that by restoring and expanding vocational and career technical education (CTE), college preparation courses, and Advanced Placement classes in all high schools.

This is an important step for Oregon businesses, too, as many employers in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and computer coding are currently having difficulty local skilled workers, and the situation is only going to intensify as the skilled workforce in these industries approach retirement.

Learn more at VoteYesFor98.org

Narrowing the Wage Gap

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New Website and Report Explores How Improving Women’s Access to Middle-Skill Jobs Can Narrow the Wage Gap while Filling a Skills Gap in Growing Sectors

Studies show that half of the gender wage gap is due to women working in different occupations and sectors than men. Improving women’s access to good middle-skill jobs can help close the wage gap and improve women’s economic security.

The new Pathways to Equity Initiative from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows careers that can improve women’s economic standing and meet employers’ demands for skilled workers. IWPR launched a new interactive website, womenandgoodjobs.org, which helps users identify pools of skilled women workers who could be tapped to fill shortages, ensuring that the economy benefits from the talent of its whole workforce. Read the Initiative’s research findings and explore the site at womenandgoodjobs.org.

Harassment in the Workplace

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In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the 2016 EEOC Harassment in the Workplace Report. OTI was pleasantly surprised to see that the report took a much broader and more comprehensive view of this issue rather than sticking to a strict legal definition.

The report acknowledges that the vast majority of workers who experience harassment in the workplace are unlikely to report the behaviors. Given this information, the EEOC is recommending prevention efforts to address workplace harassment as a remedy instead of simply focusing on the report process.

There is a section in the report that recommends the use of Bystander Intervention Training as an effective prevention model, with the caveat that more research needs to be conducted to determine the effectiveness of such models. Interestingly, OTI has been working on exactly that approach! For the last two years, OTI has been working with Green Dot (mentioned on page 57 of the report) to get funding for a pilot project here in Oregon. We are really excited that the first training for the Respectful Workplaces project will take place at the end of August!

If you are interested in this topic, but only have a few minutes, please read the summary (pages 66 – 71)! If you have more time, we recommend reading the entire report.

Narrowing the Gender Wage Gap – New Report

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New Website and Report Explores How Improving Women’s Access to Middle-Skill Jobs Can Narrow the Wage Gap while Filling a Skills Gap in Growing Sectors

Studies show that half of the gender wage gap is due to women working in different occupations and sectors than men. As such, improving women’s access to good middle-skill jobs can help close the wage gap and improve women’s economic security.

The new Pathways to Equity Initiative from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows careers that can improve women’s economic standing and meet employers’ demands for skilled workers. IWPR launched a new interactive website, womenandgoodjobs.org, which helps users identify pools of skilled women workers who could be tapped to fill shortages, ensuring that the economy benefits from the talent of its whole workforce.

Read the Initiative’s research findings and explore the site at womenandgoodjobs.org.