Shared demands
Members need to understand the issues and the proposed changes. A clear explanation of pay, conditions and rights helps coworkers and the public understand what is at stake.
U.S. and Oregon labor history
What past strikes can teach us.
Workers have used collective action to seek recognition, safer jobs, better pay and dignity at work. These examples show different outcomes and different legal settings. They help us ask better questions about our own campaign.
Sources checked: Sept. 19, 2026.
Selected timeline
Collective action and changing legal protections
- 1894: the Pullman strikePullman factory workers’ dispute spread through a railroad boycott of Pullman cars. Federal intervention and an injunction helped defeat the action. The National Park Service describes both the workers’ demands and the consequences of the conflict. This is a reminder that disruption alone does not guarantee a settlement workers want. [1]
- 1935: the National Labor Relations ActCongress established the federal framework protecting organizing and collective bargaining for many private sector workers. Government employees are excluded from that law’s coverage. For our public university bargaining, Oregon’s separate public employee framework matters. [2]
- 1936–1937: Flint sit-down strikeWorkers occupied General Motors facilities in Flint, Michigan, interrupting production during a campaign for recognition and improved conditions. The settlement brought recognition of the United Auto Workers. It became an influential example of coordinated action changing an employer’s response. [3]
- 1968: Memphis sanitation strikeBlack sanitation workers struck after two coworkers were killed, demanding recognition and better treatment. Their campaign connected labor rights with racial justice and drew support from Martin Luther King Jr. After King’s assassination, workers continued the campaign; the April 16 settlement provided for union recognition and a better wage. [4]
- 1973: Oregon’s Public Employee Collective Bargaining ActOregon enacted the core framework known as PECBA. Today it establishes public employee organizing and bargaining rights, dispute procedures and conditions on strikes. Some public employee groups are prohibited from striking and use a different process. The statute’s history notes identify the 1973 legislation. [5]
- 1995: changes to Oregon’s bargaining processThe Legislature replaced mandatory fact-finding with the impasse and final-offer process. Voluntary fact-finding remains available. The Employment Relations Board explains the steps, including cooling-off and notice requirements, that apply today. [6]
- 2025–2026: limited unemployment coverage for strikersSenate Bill 916 (2025) authorized limited Oregon unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers beginning Jan. 4, 2026. Eligibility still requires an agency determination; this is not automatic wage replacement. [7]
Historical tactics are not present-day legal guidance. Read our Oregon strike-rights guide and follow current instructions from our bargaining team about participation. An action used in a past campaign is not necessarily protected today.
Lessons for our organizing
Look at the preparation behind the outcome
These are organizing lessons we draw from the examples above, rather than a prediction about OSU’s bargaining outcome.
Support over time
Food, income planning, transportation and regular communication matter because members have to sustain participation. Asking for help belongs in that preparation.
Members’ decisions
A campaign needs a clear way to evaluate offers, communicate changes and decide next steps. Stories of previous strikes cannot substitute for that information.
Be careful comparing strike counts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ current major work-stoppage series covers strikes and lockouts involving at least 1,000 workers and lasting at least a full shift or day. BLS began this series in 1982 and extended it back to 1947 using earlier data. Smaller actions are outside its scope; older publications use different coverage. A change in the major-stoppage count is not a count of every strike. [8]
Sources
Historical records and official guidance
- National Park Service, The Strike of 1894 — Pullman dispute, boycott and federal intervention.
- National Labor Relations Board, National Labor Relations Act and Are You Covered? — federal framework and public sector exclusion.
- National Park Service, 200 Years of Labor History — Flint strike and recognition.
- Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike — campaign chronology and settlement, with documentary references.
- Oregon Legislature, ORS Chapter 243 — PECBA provisions and enactment history, including 1973 Oregon Laws, Chapter 536.
- Oregon Employment Relations Board, Dispute resolution process — 1995 changes and current bargaining steps.
- Oregon Employment Department, Striking Workers — Jan. 4, 2026 implementation and conditional eligibility.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Through the Years — series history, minimum size and coverage limits.