Bradken Chehalis workers
A TRUCK-SIZED BUMPER STICKER: Above, a sign contributed by the Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council rides around Chehalis in the pickup truck of pro-union foundry worker Darren Wright. Wright said the union election and first contract at Bradken are a big deal in Chehalis, population 7,259. Lewis County is a politically conservative and mostly nonunion area with a largest city, Centralia, of fewer than 17,000 residents. The area has been in significant economic distress in recent decades, particularly since the 2006 closure of Centralia coal mine. If Bradken workers win improvements through unionizing, Wright thinks, it could set an example for workers elsewhere.
Be the first to comment