Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice

03/31/2026

Local artists, makers and creators, authors, writers and poets will gather to celebrate and showcase independent media and the impact on culture, media and the arts. IndyCon is an artists, makers and creators fair that will take place on April 18th starting at 12 noon at Pioneer Hall in Downtown Ashland. Local artists, creators and performers will be there to show off their amazing work, create live art and to educate and entertain visitors.

Everyone is invited to this free event which includes artists booths, vendors many activities to explore.

This is a family-friendly event. There will be activities for children, teens and youth alike.

Local artists will be showing their work and creating live art, including paintings, jewelry and poetry.

Hands-on activites include making a “zine” with the Southern Oregon Zine Socety.

Artist Gatore Mukarhinda will host a community art making space. Mukarhinda, has lived all over the world, including the Congo, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Senegal and France. Mukarhinda’s art includes both drawing and painting, with jazz musicians and their instruments as frequent subjects.

Local cartoonist Curt Evans will offer free drawings for kids and “Scribble Scrabble”, turning random drawing on a piece of paper into a cartoon.

Polly the Pantomime and other performers will entertain in the courtyard and downtown. Visitors can also find refreshments and snacks.

Musical guests will perform throughout the day. There will be lots of swag to collect and prizes to win. Local independent community radio station KSKQ will host live broadcasts and interview with artists and performers.

After 5 pm, visitors will be enjoy food organized by the Ashland Community Peace Meal as local artists and musicans entertain in the courtyard. Performing at 6 pm will be world renoun composer and performer George Man. From Ithica, NY, George Mann sings songs from the labor and social justice movements, and his own songs are powerful and funny takes on the state of the nation.

IndyCon is sponsored by a grant by the City of Ashland, and the support of Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice and the Ashland Lions Club.

IndyCon is more than just an exhibition it’s an opportunity to celebrate and sustain independent creativity and media in our community. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired.

IndyCon comes at a time when independent media is under attack. Legal intimidation, restricted access, financial pressure, aggressive rhetoric from top officials and arrests of journalists and lawsuits against major news outlets have led to a decline in press freedom.

Indycon is part of Ashland's Independent Media Week. In April 2005, the City of Ashland officially proclaimed its first Independent Media Week. Every year since, a coalition of local independent media organizations have petitioned the City of Ashland to proclaim the 3rd week in April, “Independent Media Week”. Ashland mayor and city council plan to reaffirm this proclamation in April.

For more information call Jason Houk at 541-841-8341 or email [email protected].

03/21/2026

Oregon Nurses Association union files $2.5-million class-action lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, alleging multiple illegal accounting practices by healthcare provider, which does not comment

01/20/2026

The Minnesota AFL-CIO has called for a general strike on Friday, 23 Jan, to protest the ICE actions in Minnesota.

We should stand with them!

This means, to the extent you are able, no economic activity:

* No purchases, local or online

* Stay home from work and school, or demonstrate at those sites

Shut it all down, even for just one day.

https://minneapolisunions.org/system/files/2026-01/press_release_-_january_16_2026.pdf

09/21/2025

09/18/2025

On September 1st, our friends at ORD2 Indivisible helped raise money and resources for Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice (SOJWJ) at the Workers Over Billionaires rally. The event was part of a nationwide protest aimed to allow members of the community a chance to speak up for worker rights and protest the unlawful acts of the Trump administration.

Alongside our partners SEIU Local 503, Oregon Nurses’ Association, Medford Education Association and others, we rallied to demand good jobs, fair pay, strong public services, and dignity for every worker.

We are a coalition of community, labor, student, and faith-based groups and individuals working to build transformative power for social, racial, and economic justice in our community. Get informed, get involved, get moving. Meet the moment, join the movement. We are stronger, together.

09/18/2025

Thank you to all who came out and supported Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice on Labor Day.

09/09/2025

Fall weather is upon us as we are hustling to make sure folks have dry gear. We are looking for donations of tarps, tents and sleeping bags to support folks who are living rough. Donations can be dropped off Clothing and resources can be donated at our drop box at Pony Espresso Coffee House – 175 Lithia Way in Ashland.

Tax deductible donations can be sent made through Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice at their website.

Support We need your support to continue our work.   Join the fight for workers’ rights and economic justice by supporting Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice. Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice is a 501c3 organization. Your tax deductible donations can be sent to: SOJWJ258 A Street #1-220Ashland, ...

09/02/2025

My name is Jason Houk and as a member of Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice it is an honor to stand here with you all on this most important celebration... Labor Day.

Because Labor Day is more than any holiday, this is OUR DAY! It is a testament to the power of our solidarity. It reminds us that when working people stand together, we not only improve our own lives, but we lift entire communities.

History teaches us this truth that it is direct action that gets the goods and it is solidarity that wins every fight. It was solidarity that secures safer workplaces, weekends, and protects children from being exploited. None of these victories were handed down; they were achieved because people stood shoulder to shoulder... we are stronger together.

Labor Day honors the contributions of working people, but it also calls us to reflect on the kind of society we are building. Real solidarity means standing up for EVERYONE. That an injury to one is truly an injury to all.

On this Labor Day, we are reminded that the value of a person is not measured by a paycheck, a title, or a job. Too often, our society confuses worth with wealth. But the truth is this: every single person deserves dignity and that cannot be taken away by lack of employment, homelessness, or hardship.

At Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, we meet people where they are. We are a grass-roots collection of unions, groups, students, churches and our neighbors and our "crockpot brigade" working together to build a stronger community. Advocating for those without a voice and giving aid where we can. We are helping to repair individuals as well as our community. Sometimes that is just trying to keep them in the fight. We serve community meals and distribute clothing, gear and most of all, love and respect.

To those living without work, without shelter, and without stability: you are not forgotten. There is nobody that labors harder then those who have no home. It takes strength to keep moving forward when every door closes, when the systems fail, when the world looks away. That strength is worthy of honor.

Labor Day should not only remind us of what we have won, but also of how far we need to go. A truly just society ensures that no one is left behind - that every person has the chance to work, to live with dignity, and to belong to a community that cares.

The billionaires want us to fight for crumbs. The truth is There is plenty of wealth for everyone. What we have is a distribution problem. Our wealth belongs to us, not the church and not the king and certainly not Elon Musk and his billionaire friends.

We are not going to fall for it. We are going to stand up for everyone. Regardless of the color of your skin or your legal status we will stand for you. If you are in a union we will stand for you. If you are not in a union, if you just lost your job or struggling in this gig economy, we will stand for you. If you are homeless and the police try to take away your rights and your due process, we will stand for you.

So today, let us remember: the struggle for fairness and opportunity is not over. Let's carry with us the vision of a future where no one is left out of the promise of Labor Day. Where everyone — housed or unhoused, employed or unemployed — can stand tall knowing they are valued, respected, and never alone.

Happy Labor Day — and may we stand together, in solidarity, toward that future!

Support We need your support to continue our work.   Join the fight for workers’ rights and economic justice by supporting Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice. Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice is a 501c3 organization. Your tax deductible donations can be sent to: SOJWJ258 A Street #1-220Ashland, ...

08/19/2025

Join us on Labor Day.

08/16/2025

Since Donald Trump’s return to office, his administration, alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have led a cruel, violent, and heartless campaign against people across the country. ICE is terrorizing workplaces, schools, churches, immigration courts, and citizenship hearings, ripping families apart, and sending people to prison without the constitutional right of due process.

Washington, D.C. — Jobs With Justice Executive Director Erica Smiley issued the following statement addressing the ongoing ICE raids targeting workplaces and workers’ efforts to resist ICE: Since Donald Trump’s return to office, his administration, alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

07/16/2025

Cooling and smoke shelter. Wednesday 12 to 7 pm at Geos Institute 84 4th street.

07/16/2025

The Strike for Dignity is scheduled to take place from July 16 through July 18. Organizers say the goal is to make their voices heard and boycott large companies that have publicly supported the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Farmworkers across California and beyond plan to walk off the job this week in protest of immigration policies. Organizers say the strike is meant to demand dignity, protection, and a pathway to citizenship.