Monthly Archives: April, 2018

AFL-CIO calls on Portland to give Uber drivers a voice

Commissioner Nick Fish says an ordinance to set up a driver "Wage Board" will get May 24 hearing.

Volunteers of America presents an anti-union ‘final offer’

CEO Kay Toran proposes no raises and a "right to work" rule that would undermine the union.

A Burgerville store goes union — officially

The Burgerville at 92nd and Powell may be the nation’s first officially unionized fast food union.

The Trump administration’s record on worker safety

Progress on safety has halted, and safety programs have been targeted for elimination.

On-the-job fatalities in Oregon in 2017

Forty-eight Oregon workers lost their lives on the job last year. Here are their names.

Ironworkers protest Facebook

In a major expansion of the Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon, a general contractor is using low-wage nonunion ironworkers from out of state.

What to do (and what not to do) if you’re injured on the job

In Oregon and Washington, you have rights, and help is available.

Questions for Jordan Barab

Jordan Barab, a longtime union safety expert, was number two at OSHA under Obama. He’s not happy about the way things have gone under Trump.

Use tax dollars to incentivize the creation of middle wage green jobs

The emerging clean economy can be the keystone of a good wage and benefit strategy.

Bill to end tribal worker union rights fails in Senate

The vote was 55-41 to end debate, but backers needed 60 votes.

Time to ban asbestos? Merkley and Bonamici think so

Decades after asbestos insulation was banned, the fibers are still in many legal products in America.

America’s most dangerous jobs

Three of the top 10 are in construction.

Making roadway construction zones safer

More roadway construction workers are killed each year by construction equipment and vehicles than by on-road vehicles. How can we make it safer?

Ron Heintzman: 1953-2018

The Portland transit union leader helped build Local 757, and was briefly national union president.

A record 130 apprentices compete in Plumbers & Fitters Local 290 skills contest

The top finisher in each discipline advances to the Western Regional Apprentice Contest this June in Denver, Colorado.

Democrats meet organized labor

Democratic Party of Oregon’s Labor Caucus drew 160 to a four-hour event educating Democrats about labor.

STRIKE! Could the red-state teacher walkouts herald a return of labor’s long-forgotten tactic?

In an era when the strike seems all but dead, it feels like the beginning of a strike wave.

Shame on Fortis? Or should it be ‘Shame on Facebook?’

Building trades union leaders are irked that some of the work on the Facebook data center in Prineville is going to nonunion subcontractors that pay below area-standard wages and use workers from out of state.

ATU v TriMet: 5-year legal case starts over after state Supreme Court ruling

TriMet, a public transit agency, has spent a bundle to keep the public out of its meetings.

For Washington working people, best legislative session in years

Union-backed bills that were blocked when Republicans ran the state Senate had much better results this year.

Glenn Shuck, 1936-2018

The former Steelworkers Local 3010 president spent 25 years Labor's Community Service Agency.

Replace NAFTA, don’t make it worse

Can President Trump deliver on his pledge to make trade agreements better for American workers?