From charlie.burr at state.or.us Wed Dec 4 11:26:02 2013 From: charlie.burr at state.or.us (Burr, Charlie) Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2013 19:26:02 +0000 Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Avakian announces BOLI Business Leadership Award for outstanding Oregon employer Message-ID: <6376A41CAD6C3E4F8A65385BDA4072612AE1B02D@D5DAG1B.D5.USA.NET> [cid:image001.gif at 01CEF0E1.5612BEE0] Press Release For Immediate Release November 4, 2013 CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788, Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries Stephanie Swanson, (971) 246-1732, Clean Energy Works Avakian announces BOLI Business Leadership Award for outstanding Oregon employer Clean Energy Works praised for efforts to build a stronger, more inclusive and diverse workforce PORTLAND-Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian today awarded Oregon non-profit Clean Energy Works a BOLI Workforce Champion Award for the organization's efforts to generate economic opportunities for women, veterans and people of color. The BOLI Business Award recognizes employers and organizations for their contributions to ensuring a highly skilled, competitive and diverse workforce for our state. During the past three years, Clean Energy Works retrofitting projects have resulted in paychecks to more than 1,000 workers and 340 direct new hires. Notably, women and people of color have performed fifty-five percent of all construction work hours on projects spanning 19 Oregon counties. To date, 22 veterans have found employment because of Clean Energy Works programs. "Our state is deeply fortunate to have great employers," said Avakian. "Today's award recognizes Clean Energy Works for going beyond the call of duty in its efforts to foster a more inclusive and diverse construction workforce. I appreciate the organization's commitment to putting equity at the center of its operations. More women and people of color now have good jobs saving Oregonians energy as a result." Commissioner Avakian presented the organization with the recognition at the agency's 29th Annual BOLI Employment Law Conference. "We are so honored to be recognized by the BOLI Workforce Champion Award," said Derek Smith, CEO of Clean Energy Works. "Clean Energy Works is committed to building a more inclusive, diverse workforce with a strong network of business and community partners. With more than 600,000 homes in Oregon still in need of energy upgrades, there are many more opportunities to grow our economy and create good, local jobs." Partnerships with local non-profits and workforce organizations play an important role in Clean Energy Works' efforts. Project leaders work to connect CEW contractors with workforce partners such as Constructing Hope, Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. and Portland YouthBuilders so that women and people of color have better access to skills training and support. ### About the Bureau of Labor and Industries The mission of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is to protect employment rights, advance employment opportunities, and ensure access to housing and public accommodations free from discrimination. BOLI's technical assistance program works to help employers navigate state and federal regulations to avoid violations, responding to nearly 20,000 inquiries from businesses large and small. For more information about BOLI's efforts to support Oregon employers and workforce, visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI. About Clean Energy Works Clean Energy Works is a non-profit, public-private partnership accelerating total home performance upgrades in Oregon. The organization activates a powerful collaboration of local contractors, lenders, governments, and utilities to make it easy and affordable for Oregonians to improve the comfort and health of their homes, while lowering energy expenses by a third or more. Clean Energy Works is nationally recognized as an innovative model that successfully multiplies energy savings, good jobs and other environmental benefits to transform local communities. For more information, visit http://www.cleanenergyworksoregon.org. Charlie Burr Communications Director Bureau of Labor and Industries 800 NE Oregon St., Ste. 1045 Portland, OR 97232-2180 (971) 673-0788 wk. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5043 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: From charlie.burr at state.or.us Thu Dec 26 09:59:27 2013 From: charlie.burr at state.or.us (Burr, Charlie) Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2013 17:59:27 +0000 Subject: =?Windows-1252?Q?NEWS_RELEASE:_Top_five_things_to_know_about_Oregon=92s_2?= =?Windows-1252?Q?014_minimum_wage_increase?= Message-ID: <6376A41CAD6C3E4F8A65385BDA4072612AE1E030@D5DAG1B.D5.USA.NET> [cid:image001.png at 01CF021D.B595E340] Press Release For Immediate Release December 26, 2013 CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788 office Top five things to know about Oregon?s 2014 minimum wage increase Oregon minimum wage set to increase to $9.10 January 1 PORTLAND?As Oregon prepares to see its minimum wage increase in the new year, the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) today issued the following five things to know about the state?s minimum wage: 1) Nearly 100,000 Oregon workers will see wage increases starting January 1st. Oregon?s minimum wage will increase from $8.95 to $9.10 for 98,000 minimum wage employees. 2) The 2014 increase for Oregon?s minimum wage will boost consumer purchasing power and is expected to generate more than $20 million in new economic activity for the state. The minimum wage adjustment will mean that directly-affected employees working 30 hours a week will have $234 more to spend on goods in 2014. 3) Oregon?s minimum wage is tied to inflation to help employees keep pace with the rising cost of goods and services. In 2002, Oregon voters passed an indexed minimum wage that increases based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a figure published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to track prices for a fixed market basket of goods. 4) Most minimum wage workers are at least 20 years old. According to the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 80 percent of all minimum wage workers living in states with an indexed minimum wage last year were at least 20 years old. In addition, about two thirds of all workers across the country earning a minimum wage or less are women, according to the National Women?s Law Center. 5) Employers can download 2014 minimum wage posters for free. Oregon employers can download free minimum wage posters from BOLI?s website at www.oregon.gov/boli/WHD/pages/minimum_wage_posters.aspx. For more information about BOLI?s efforts to support Oregon?s workforce and provide assistance to Oregon employers, please visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI. ### Charlie Burr Communications Director Bureau of Labor and Industries 800 NE Oregon St., Ste. 1045 Portland, OR 97232-2180 (971) 673-0788 wk. (503) 913-5407 cell. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 8969 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: