ACLU of Oregon Careers

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Who are we?

With more than 53,000 members and donor supporters across Oregon, the ACLU of Oregon is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that builds political power in meaningful partnership with impacted individuals and communities to disrupt and defend against oppressive systems. Together, we educate and dispel misinformation, advocate at all levels of government, and fight in courts to protect and advance our democracy, 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 Foundation of Oregon, Inc., our 501(c)(3) organization, primarily engages in policy and legal research, legal advocacy, education and outreach, and policy advocacy consistent with what is allowed for 501(c)(3) organizations. The ACLU of Oregon, Inc., our 501(c)(4) organization, primarily engages in policy and ballot measure advocacy.

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, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, immigration status, citizenship, religion, and disability or differing abilities.

Our Vision:

We envision a more just, equitable, and caring democracy in Oregon.

Together, we can create a democracy where all people and communities have:

Fundamental freedoms and rights;

Access and power to engage fully in our democratic processes; and

Inherent value, dignity, and autonomy.

Together, we can foster a democracy that:

Centers voices that have been historically silenced, excluded, and oppressed;

Provides opportunities and resources for all of its people to thrive; and

Fulfills its promises to be a democracy that is of, by, and for all the people.

Our Mission:

Take action together to protect and advance our civil liberties and civil rights for a more just, equitable, and caring democracy in Oregon.

Achieving Our Mission:

The ACLU of Oregon builds political power in meaningful partnership with impacted individuals and communities to disrupt and defend against oppressive systems. Together, we educate and dispel misinformation, advocate at all levels of government, and fight in courts to protect and advance our democracy, civil liberties and civil rights.

Our Core Values:

The principles that underpin our vision, mission, and flow throughout our work:

1. Justice for All
Justice should not be the privilege of a few but the right of all. We do not believe in upholding entrenched power and instead seek to be just, impartial, and equitable.

2. Anti-Oppression
Oppression can and does operate at different levels, from individual to institutional to cultural. To protect civil liberties, civil rights, and uphold justice, we must challenge unjust and oppressive treatment of all people. To do this, we recognize and dismantle discriminatory actions, center the experiences of individuals and groups most harmed, and cultivate conscious building practices.

3. Trust
Trust as an expression of hope, care, and mutuality is core to how we cultivate relationships. Within the ACLU as a team and externally for Oregonians, we seek to assure reliance on the character, ability, and truth of our commitments and uphold confidence in our work.

4. Joy
Movements for justice benefit when we nurture communal well-being, delight in both small and larger-scale successes, and normalize competing emotions coexisting simultaneously.

5. Determination
We are resolute in achieving our vision for a just, equitable, and caring democracy in Oregon. Through the ups and downs, we remain bold, steady, and resolved to hold firm to our purpose. Together, we are strong.

ACLU of Oregon Equity Stance and Commitment to Racial Justice
At the ACLU of Oregon, we envision a more just, equitable, and caring democracy in Oregon. To realize this vision, we center our work on defending and advancing the civil liberties and civil rights of the individuals and communities in Oregon who are the most marginalized, dehumanized, and impacted by systemic inequities.

A thriving democracy is one where all people and communities have access and power to engage fully in our democratic processes. Therefore, we must pay attention, defend, and protect against the encroachment of the civil liberties and civil rights of those most impacted by systemic oppression. When we center our actions and decisions alongside the communities most impacted, we advance our commitment to foster a democracy that is of, by, and for all the people.

The ACLU of Oregon recognizes the historical and contemporary systemic inequities of all types of oppression. These longstanding and persistent inequities threaten the rights and fundamental freedoms of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, refugees, people with varying abilities, LGBTQ+ people, women, geographically isolated people, people experiencing poverty and other socio-economic injustices.

Taken collectively, the curbing of rights and fundamental freedoms of all of these groups – especially where they overlap – further perpetuate the erosion of everyone’s rights under the U.S. and Oregon constitutions.

We will hold ourselves, our partners, government bodies, and the judiciary accountable to equity and racial justice when it comes to defending the constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms of every person.

ACLU of Oregon Elements of Trust in the Workplace
Sincerity: the assessment that you are honest, that you say what you mean and mean what you say. The idea that 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 that 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 that you have the other person’s interest in mind as well as your own when you make decisions and take actions. (*Is this reasonable, fair, and equitable to me, my team members, the ACLU of Oregon community, and the communities we support by doing justice work?)

ACLU of Oregon 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 body and life 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 all people to express their individuality including 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 all forms of racism 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 system. We believe current policing and criminal legal systems are unjust and ineffective and that these systems must be fundamentally reimagined and changed to support the safety and wellness of all Oregonians.
• 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 the 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. We firmly believe in and support the freedom of speech, as well as the right to assemble and peacefully 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 on 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.

NOTICE ABOUT REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, OFFERS OF EMPLOYMENT, AND 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 ([email protected] 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.