Monthly Archives: June, 2019

Psychiatric nurses at Legacy’s Unity Center vote overwhelmingly to unionize

Supporters say they want a union in part to create a safer environment for patients and staff.

Oregon minimum wage will rise again on July 1

The 2019 raise will bring the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour within the Portland metropolitan area’s urban growth boundary, $11.00 an hour in the predominantly rural counties of eastern Oregon and the southern Oregon coast, and $11.25 an hour everywhere else.

Veterans nursing home workers vote to stay union

At Veterans Care Centers of Oregon in The Dalles, workers voted 60 to 37 to remain in the United Steelworkers of America.

Workers at Fred Meyer and Safeway take strike votes

Bargaining between Local 555 and the multi-employer coalition passed the one-year mark June 19, and the two sides remain far apart on wages, health insurance and other proposals.

U.S. House committee passes bill to rescue failing union pension plans

The Butch-Lewis Act would lend money to pension plans to give them a chance to recover.

We must not forget Oregon Democrats’ betrayal on PERS

Organized labor should hold accountable those who side with a corporate capitalist agenda at the expense of workers.

Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5 elects new leadership

Based on votes cast at 12 locals June 8, the 6,100-member district council will be headed by Todd Springer from Portland-based Glaziers Local 740.

Operating Engineers pickets question Boeing’s Integrity

When Local 701 pickets went up against a non-union equipment operator, members of Iron Workers Local 29 and other unions walked out, teaching apprentices the meaning of solidarity.

Crisis team at Local 701 training center

Operating Engineers Local 701 made its 87-acre training facility available to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department for training.

Labor Appreciation Night raises $13,000 for community service

More than 300 labor leaders, elected officials and others attended the annual awards event.

Little Big Burger, hoping to squash Little Big Union, calls for election

Supporters of the grassroots union say the burger chain has fired several union supporters and is campaigning against the union.

Union to OHSU: Health workers need sick days

As an early signal that they’re unwilling to make concessions in their next union contract, over 1,000 AFSCME Local 328 supporters rallied June 13 at OHSU.

Union Spirit at the Portland Rose Festival

A contingent of 60 union women dressed as Rosie the Riveter was one of three union entries in this year's Rose Festival parades.

Multnomah County approves wage theft pilot

Starting July 1, union reps can volunteer to help enforce prevailing wage and wage and hour laws on County construction projects.

Oregon lawmakers vote to cut public employee retirement contributions

Democrats led the charge to divert up to 2.5 percent of public worker pay to shore up PERS.

Union report: men out-earn women at Fred Meyer

UFCW Local 555 is calling on grocery employers to end pay disparity among journey-level grocery workers, in which the average women earns $1.31 an hour less than the average man.

At an autism therapy chain, low-wage therapists unionize

After weeks of comically ineffective pleading by a tone-deaf company CEO and a pair of hired-gun union-busters, over 80 percent of the workers vote union.

ATU president Larry Hanley, 1957-2019

Hanley, national president of 200,000-member Amalgamated Transit Union, died suddenly of pulmonary disease May 7 at the age of 62.

Lee Duncan, 1954-2019

A Navy veteran and former business IBEW Local 48 business rep, Duncan founded a motorcycle poker run that raised $465,000 for a children's hospital.

STARs of Painters/Drywall Finishers Local 10 and Floor Coverers Local 1236

After completing skill advancement and safety courses, members of Painters & Drywall Finishers Local 10 and Floor Coverers Local 1236 got cash and other bonuses at the May 31 STAR Awards banquet.

Veterans Nursing Home workers join United Steelworkers

A group of 213 workers at a Lebanon, Oregon, nursing home for veterans won a union May 20.