Research Associate 

Janet Bauer conducts research on employment issues facing workers in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and best practices to support them and their unions. Her interests include unionization, job quality, equity for low-wage and under-represented workers, the care economy, wage theft, health care, immigrant issues, economic subsidies, and just transition to green jobs, among other issues.  

Bauer joined the LERC faculty in September 2023. She holds a master’s degree in urban studies from Portland State University. 

Previous to LERC, Bauer directed research at the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Her work over 18 years focused on employment and income issues. In partnership with community leaders and unions, she researched and made policy recommendations on a wide range of economic justice issues central to workers. Her work included building worker power through industry wage boards and addressing barriers to collective bargaining due to exclusions in the National Labor Relations Act.

Bauer is a long-time Oregonian and lives with her family in Portland.