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ACLU OF OREGON
It is an exciting time at the ACLU of Oregon: we are envisioning an approach to our work that centers Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), low-income, and other historically disenfranchised communities and voices; expanding our fundraising base; strengthening our legal and advocacy firepower; and amplifying public engagement and support for our work to fight threats to the freedom and well-being of individuals and communities head-on — and win.
In addition to fulfilling our strong mission and high-profile work, we aspire to create and nurture an internal culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to dismantle white supremacy and replace it with equitable organizational structures. To this end, we are intentionally seeking to attract team members and leaders who are interested in shaping our future as an equity-focused organization that centers and prioritizes our internal and external work with the following values: anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-transphobia, anti-homophobia, anti-ableism, and other forms of anti-oppression.
All positions at the ACLU of Oregon require strong and continued commitment to these values and the proven ability to incorporate these values into work internal and external to the organization. We are committed to creating and sustaining an organization and community that values and respects differences of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family relationship to a current or prior employee, immigration status, citizenship, differing abilities or disability, veteran or uniformed service status, record of arrest or conviction, and socio-economic status.
As well, we are committed to creating and nurturing an internal space that supports and prioritizes the well-being and safety of team members, our work-life balance, and our ability to engage in the hard work of justice while flourishing as individuals, family members, parents, spouses, partners, friends, and community members.
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Who are we?
With a membership of more than 28,000 Oregonians, the ACLU of Oregon is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that works in courts, in the state legislature and local governments, and in communities to defend and advance our civil liberties and civil rights.
The ACLU of Oregon is composed of the ACLU of Oregon Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization.
The ACLU of Oregon is an affiliate of the national ACLU, which has affiliates in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and more than 4 million members, activists, and supporters nationwide.
What are civil liberties and civil rights?
These are our rights under the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and other laws that set out our fundamental freedoms – including, but not limited to, free speech and protest rights, religious freedom and separation of church and state, right to privacy, right to equality, and due process rights in criminal proceedings and many other areas. These core rights include our fundamental rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness regardless of our statuses and identities such as, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, immigration status, citizenship, religion, and disability or differing abilities.
We do our work with the following foundational values:
We strive to center our work on the individuals and communities in Oregon who are the most marginalized and impacted by systemic inequities of racism, xenophobia, misogyny, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, socioeconomic injustice, and other types of oppression.
These communities include Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, immigrants and refugees, people with varying abilities, LGBTQ+ communities, and people experiencing poverty and other socio-economic injustices.
We believe each and every person has inherent dignity and value and that no person is disposable.
We seek to create real – not performative – public and community safety and wellness through democratic values and processes that recognize and value our civil liberties and civil rights.
We are committed to doing our best to build strong relationships and trust internally and externally. The following are elements of trust related to our workplace:
- Sincerity: the assessment that you are honest, that you say what you mean and mean what you say. The idea you can be believed and taken seriously and that your actions are aligned with your words.
- Reliability: the assessment that you meet the commitments you make, and that you keep your promises.
- Competence: the assessment you have the ability to do what you’re doing or propose to do. Note being competent does not mean being perfect. Part of doing something well is knowing what you don’t know how to do, being willing to learn, and to ask for help when you need it.
- Care: the assessment you have the other person’s interest in mind as well as your own when you make decisions and take actions.
Organizational positions:
The ACLU of Oregon’s work focuses on pressing social, political, and justice issues. Our organizational positions on current issue areas are as follows:
- Democracy. We believe in fulfilling the founding promise of our country–a democracy of, by, and for the people. We believe that to fulfill the promise of democracy, we must protect and advance our civil liberties and civil rights, including voting rights, for all communities but especially historically disenfranchised communities.
- Bodily autonomy & abortion. We support the bodily autonomy of all people. We resist attacks on the bodily autonomy of women and people who can get pregnant, and we strongly support abortion rights.
- LGBTQ+ & transgender rights. We support the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, resist attacks on transgender and non-binary people, and support gender-affirming care and marriage equality.
- Anti-racism. We are anti-racist and actively work to dismantle anti-Blackness and white supremacy within our organization and in Oregon.
- The rights of Indigenous people. We affirm and honor the rights of Indigenous people and their lands, and we support the sovereignty of Indigenous people and their lands.
- Policing & criminal legal justice. We believe current policing and criminal legal systems are unjust and ineffective and that these systems must be fundamentally reimagined and changed.
- Immigrant & refugee rights. We support the rights of the immigrant and refugee community, and we believe no human being is illegal.
- Separation of church & state. We believe in religious freedom and separation of church and state. The Constitution requires that our country respect the right of people of all faiths to practice their religions and beliefs, and in order to achieve this, the government must not favor or endorse the views of any particular religion or religious group.
- First Amendment rights. We firmly believe in and support the freedom of speech, as well as the right to assemble and peaceably protest. However, we are also mindful that “in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance” and that hateful speech can infringe the rights, dignity, and safety of people and communities, particularly historically disenfranchised people and communities.
- The dignity of all people, including low-income and houseless people. We believe all human beings should be treated with dignity, including people who are low-income or houseless. We believe that treating low-income and houseless people in harmful ways such as through criminalization and sweeps is inhumane. We also believe that such approaches exacerbate rather than solve the pressing issues of houselessness, socio-economic injustice, substance abuse, and mental health faced by many in our communities.
- Privacy. We believe that privacy is a fundamental human right that is critical to human dignity and civil liberties such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. We believe that defending and advancing privacy rights is especially critical in our current times as the digital age has radically affected our ability to maintain our privacy rights.
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NOTICE ABOUT REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, OFFERS OF EMPLOYMENT & COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT
The physical requirements described in the job description are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the position. If an employee requires reasonable accommodation(s) to do the essential functions of their position, the ACLU of Oregon will engage in the disability interactive process with the employee to determine and provide reasonable accommodation(s). If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation related to application processes, the applicant should contact the ACLU of Oregon for assistance (hr@aclu-or.org or 888-527-2258).
The ACLU of Oregon is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values for us, and we encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family relationship to a current or prior employee, immigration status, citizenship, disability or differing abilities, veteran or uniformed service status, and record of arrest or conviction. We also encourage qualified people with justice system involvement to apply for our positions. We follow all applicable anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation laws.
Offers of employment by the ACLU of Oregon are in writing and signed by the Executive Director. Any offers of employment that do not meet these requirements are not final and are contingent on final approval by the Executive Director and receipt of a written offer of employment that meets the previously-stated requirements.
We are requiring all staff team members to be vaccinated for COVID-19 consistent with CDC recommendations unless a staff member has requested and received a health/disability or religious accommodation.
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