Oregon Just Transition Alliance and its member organizations are encouraging Oregon State Legislators to pass three key policies in 2022 to advance environmental, racial, and economic justice in our state:
Farmworker Overtime - HB 4002 Farmworkers in Oregon have extremely tough jobs and often work long hours in dangerous conditions. In the past year alone, roughly 80,000 Oregon farmworkers worked to feed families through the pandemic, wildfires, hazardous air quality conditions, and deadly heat waves. Yet farmworkers have been unfairly excluded from overtime pay due to an outdated law that has perpetuated institutional racism in our state and our country for generations.
Fair pay is a key step to increasing community resilience as Oregonians face more and more climate crisis-fueled disasters and extreme weather events. Oregon legislators must take action to ensure our field and hand-harvest farmworkers are no longer excluded from overtime laws.
Long-term and Emergency Heat Relief - SB 1536 During the record heat wave last year, at least 96 Oregonians died and countless others suffered without access to life-saving cooling devices such as air conditioning or heat pumps in their home. As climate change fuels more extreme weather, it is essential that Oregonians are protected from the deadly impacts of heat waves and storms. Oregonians deserve access to affordable, efficient, and safe heating and cooling during extreme weather events. Health professionals, energy advocates, and environmental justice organizations worked together to craft thoughtful heat relief policies to protect vulnerable Oregonians and build more resilient communities.
Environmental Justice Council Mapping - HB 4077
People of color, low-income, and rural and tribal communities have been at the front line of environmental and climate injustice in Oregon. Equitable environmental strategies offer more support, resources, and capacity to communities that carry a bigger burden of environmental problems.
Oregon’s Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) works to design collaborative, data-driven solutions to environmental threats and inequities in our state. HB 4077 provides the EJTF new tools to help identify patterns of pollution and climate burdens, identify disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, and assess environmental vulnerabilities.