FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 04, 2026
May 04, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
Largest federal employee union endorses Sen. Jeff Merkley and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle, Janelle Bynum and Andrea Salinas for re-election
Categories:
Senate, Congress, Election 2026, House
Oregon’s statewide primary is May 19, and the general election is Nov. 3.
WASHINGTON — The American Federation of Government Employees today endorsed Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle, Janelle Bynum and Andrea Salinas, all D-Ore., for re-election in 2026. Oregon’s statewide primary is May 19, and the general election is Nov. 3.
“This Oregon delegation is exceptionally pro-labor and pro-federal employee, with each member earning ratings above 90% during their time in Congress,” said Tim Snyder, AFGE District 11 national vice president. “I’ve enjoyed meeting these members of Congress when they spoke to AFGE members at our Capitol Hill rallies and District 11 receptions during AFGE’s Legislative Conference. They and their staff are always exceptionally accessible to our local union leaders and supportive of AFGE.”
Merkley grew up in a blue-collar family in Myrtle Creek, Roseburg and East Multnomah County, and was the first in his family to graduate from college. His father was a union machinist, and his wife, Mary, was a member of the Oregon Nurses Association. Merkley belongs to Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate. In the Senate, he has worked to rein in Wall Street abuses, push back against voter suppression and end partisan gerrymandering, and he now serves as ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. Merkley was one of only five U.S. senators to oppose the 2018 VA Mission Act, citing privatization concerns.
Bonamici, who represents Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, is a longtime consumer rights advocate and education activist. She worked her way through community college, university and law school in Eugene while working at Legal Aid, then served as a consumer protection attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. She later won election to the Oregon Legislature, where she served in both the House and Senate. During the 2019 government shutdown, Bonamici held news events at the Portland airport and a local food bank, and intervened with a McMinnville landlord on behalf of a Sheridan corrections officer facing eviction.
Dexter, who represents Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, is a physician and a mother of two. As both a doctor and a legislator, she has championed affordable housing, universal health care, education funding and climate action. She serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. At 16, Dexter joined the United Food and Commercial Workers, the start of a long affiliation with the labor movement that continues to shape her work in Congress on behalf of working families and federal employees across her district.
Hoyle, who represents Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, graduated from Emmanuel College with a degree in political science and spent 25 years in the bicycle industry, working in retail management, manufacturing, distribution and international trade. She chaired the Oregon Export Council, was elected to the Oregon House in 2010 and later served as House majority leader. She was then elected Oregon labor commissioner, leading the state Bureau of Labor and Industries. Hoyle now serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. A third-generation union member, she belonged to UNITE HERE Local 26.
Bynum, who represents Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, served eight years in the Oregon House before her election to Congress, including as chair of the Committee on Small Business and Economic Development. State lawmakers credit her with helping add $43 billion and more than 6,000 jobs to Oregon’s economy. In her first year in Congress, Bynum’s office helped secure more than $166 million in federal funding for the 5th District. She earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Florida A&M University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Both of her parents were union teachers, and her children have been UFCW members.
Salinas, who represents Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant who came to the United States as a child, picked cotton and tomatoes in the Rio Grande Valley and later served as a police officer. Salinas was the first in her family to attend a four-year university, earning her degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She served as a congressional aide to Sen. Harry Reid and a policy adviser to Rep. Pete Stark. Before her election to the Oregon House and to Congress, she lobbied for labor unions, including federal employee unions.
AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country, representing more than 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers across the federal government. AFGE-represented employees care for veterans, support the military, help deliver affordable electricity through the Bonneville Power Administration and ensure Social Security recipients receive their benefits accurately and on time.
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