Local 2831 Newsletter

March 2026 Newsletter

AFSCME Local 2831
Social share icons

New E-board Members

In November 2025, Local 2831 union elections were held and the following people were elected:

Officers:

  • President - Jenn Tipton
  • 2nd Vice President - Brittany Brown
  • Treasurer - Rachelle Johnson

Executive Board:

  • Community Justice and Rehabilitation Services - Korey Lynde
  • District Attorney's Office - Lyle Clingman
  • HHS - Admin - Jonathan Routledge
  • HHS – Behavioral Health - Leslie Prieto
  • HHS - Developmental Disabilities Services - Emily Fagan
  • HHS - Nurses (At Large) - Tia Morehouse
  • HHS - Nurses (non-CHC) - Tessa Friason
  • Public Works Lane Events Center - Tim Jenkins
  • Technology Services - Josue Armenta

If you would like to hold an elected union position, there are vacancy in the following executive board positions:

  • Assessment & Taxation
  • County Admin Ops
  • HHS – CHC (non-nurses)
  • HHS – CHC (nurses)
  • HHS – Physicians
  • HHS – Public Health
  • Public Works General
  • Public Works Waste Management
  • Sheriff’s Office

You can find a list of your union officers and executive board members at: https://local2831.org/

If you’re interested in joining the board as an area rep for your department, please respond to this email. 

Calendar

Local 2831’s General Membership meetings for 2026 will start at 6:00 pm and will be held in a hybrid format which means members can join virtually or join us in person at the local AFSCME at 688 Charnelton Street, Eugene, OR 97401.

General Membership Meetings will be held on:

  • March 3rd
  • June 2nd
  • September 1st
  • November 3rd

Please be on the lookout for invites closer to those dates. The Local 2831 calendar is currently up to date and zoom links for general membership meetings can be found there. 

New Year, New Labor Laws

The new year has brought several new labor laws to Oregon!

Starting in January 2026, Oregon and Washington will join two other states, New Jersey and New York, in allowing workers who are out of work due to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute to claim unemployment. Oregon Senate Bill 916 passed in 2025 which means employees are now eligible to receive unemployment benefits for up to ten weeks after a two-week wait period. Previously, workers on strike or participating in a lockout could not claim unemployment benefits. In Oregon, this law applies to both private and public sector employees while in other states, it only applies to private sector employees. 

Previously, public employers who failed to update employee lists and pass along union dues to unions, would not have faced any penalties. But with the passing of Oregon House Bill 2944, the Oregon Employment Relations Board can now fine employers who repeatedly fail to do these basic obligations up to $10,000.

With the passing of Oregon House Bill 3789 in June 2025, it is now illegal to impersonate a union representative. Why is this important? Many union members have received misleading mailers, emails, texts, and even sometimes in-person visits from third-parties that misrepresent themselves as the member’s union. Now unions can hold those third-parties responsible in civil court.

In addition to the above laws being passed, several others are coming into effect in 2026 that affect wages and the funding of BOLI.