Oregon Advocacy Group OPAL Lays Off Entire Staff After Losing Funder Support
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, a transit advocacy nonprofit that pushed TriMet to adopt better benefits, including discounted fares for low-income riders, through the transit union Bus Riders Unite, which was organized by OPAL, has laid off its entire staff of nine people.
The group was founded in 2005 and will now be looking for volunteers to fill in.
OPAL Transit Advocacy Group Lays Off Staff Amidst Funding Issues
In a November Instagram post, OPAL indicated that its employees were laid off as a cost-cutting measure, but the group will continue to operate.
The board of directors offered a sincere apology to the team and the people of Oregon and indicated that they would rely primarily on volunteers going forward.
The layoffs were attributed to financial challenges stemming from several funders’ loss of support over the past two years.
The board of directors recognized the impact on the livelihoods of their nine hardworking staff members and their families and said, “These were hard and painful decisions to reduce OPAL’s operations.”
Recent tax filings indicate that the group earned $1.3 million in contributions and delivered a net income of $543,000. The filings reflect net assets of $1.5 million, but in the year prior, only half the income from contributions was collected, leading to a loss of almost $60,000.
OPAL & Bus Riders Unite TriMet Successes
The influential advocacy group has impacted Portland-area transit over the last two decades.
After organizing the transit union Bus Riders Unite in 2010, the group began to pressurize TriMet to extend its fare transfer window from two hours to three hours, arguing that the short timeframe unfairly hurt low-income riders and people of color, who tend to be concentrated in areas with less frequent service.
TriMet’s board voted to extend transfer windows to 2 1/2 hours in 2014, despite the request to increase them to three hours.
As one of the most vocal groups advocating for a discounted fare for low-income riders, Bus Riders Unite achieved its goal when TriMet introduced lower fares in 2018.
The union was also instrumental in expanding the YouthPass free transit pass program to Portland students in districts other than Portland Public Schools.
OPAL has put pressure on TriMet to explore dropping fares entirely and offer the transit service for free, as is the case in cities like Corvallis and Kansas City, Missouri, more recently. The group also promoted alternatives to police for a security presence on MAX trains and buses.
The Portland Clean Energy Initiative, a 2018 measure approved by voters that places a 1% tax on sales by large retailers in the city, directing the proceeds toward climate justice projects, is another project championed by OPAL, who work with other groups.