Jobs and Economy

Recently an Oregon mother told me that "if child care crumbles, if it gets even a fraction more difficult to find, then our collective ability to work crumbles too." Finding quality care for her children was so time-consuming it felt like a second job. Even though she eventually found a pre-school for her older child, she had to rely on a combination of babysitters and family for her infant because care for very young children is expensive and difficult to find.

Home care workers and consumers shared their daily lives with members of Congress to urge them to support a $400 billion investment in care that would make it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to get the care they need, and create good, union jobs for care workers. In Oregon, SEIU 503 members Gloria Arroyo Martínez and José Arroyo welcomed Rep. Suzanne Bonamici as they spent a day caring for their 31-year-old son Oscar. "Families like ours rely on care. That's why I'm asking you to fight for good union home care jobs," said Gloria.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, whose 1st District includes Washington County, and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said their stopovers were a reminder that many people work on Labor Day, which honors workers. "We know there are so many people who are working on Labor Day," Bonamici, a Democrat from Beaverton, said. "This is a way to say thank you to all of our first responders." It was just one year ago, while on a visit to a Tigard station of TVF&R, that Bonamici and others observed smoke wafting from the southeast.

"Most people think of Labor Day as a day to have a picnic or a day to shop a sale, but we know there are so many people who are working on Labor Day -- and its a way to say thank you to our first responders, and thank you so much," Rep. Bonamici said. TVF&R crews just wrapped up two training camps, aimed at recruiting women for firefighting and paramedic positions. Rep. Bonamici says she's excited to see more women in first-responder roles.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici toured Portland Community College's Columbia County Center on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The new facility is home to PCC's OMIC Training Center, across the street from the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center facility operated by Oregon Institute of Technology. Bonamici, who attended community college, mostly asked questions of PCC OMIC director Andrew Lattanner, but also briefly spoke with students participating in a week-long introduction to manufacturing class.