Monthly Archives: May, 2021

Providence Milwaukie signs first union contract

Providence Health System fought against the union of housekeepers and CNAs at every stage in their three-year campaign to win improvements.

Biden’s new trade enforcers

The Biden Administration continues to name union figures to top government positions. The latest two appointments will oversee trade policy.

Union-busting bakery pays $580k to settle overtime case

Workers sometimes win when they raise the union banner, even when they lose the union.

Death on the Job: The toll of neglect

For 30 years the national AFL-CIO has been reporting on workplace safety and fatalities on the job. Progress has stalled.

Longview news reporters go union

Newsroom staff at The Daily News in Longview, Washington voted 6-0 to unionize with the NewsGuild in mail ballots counted May 14.

Journeyman card counts toward college credit

Mount Hood Community College has agreements with over a dozen union apprenticeship programs to award equivalent college credits.

Medical interpreters unite

Oregon AFSCME will work to win better pay and standards for about 500 medical interpreters—those who translate for Medicaid patients.

Oregon honors first Education Support Professional of the Year, Paula Steinweg

The new award, for school support workers, is the result of an OSEA-backed bill passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2019.

SW Washington Labor Council hands out 650 boxes of food in 45 minutes

The council has been operating a food bank since just before Christmas for 152 union members who were laid off because of COVID-19.

IBEW 89 warns labor strife may be coming with purchaser of Frontier

It took 10 weeks to get bargaining dates with Ziply Fiber, and then the company was a no-show at the first scheduled bargaining session.

Legislature must prioritize essential worker pay

Oregon will receive billions in federal dollars. This is an opportunity to invest in the heroic workers who kept our communities functioning.

Labor’s Community Service Agency hires new staffer, launches spring fundraiser

Labor’s Community Service Agency, serving union families statewide, has launched a COVID Safety-Net Spring Fundraiser through May 31.

OIT faculty win first contract after eight days on strike

Faculty at the Oregon Institute of Technology were the last at any Oregon public university to unionize … and the first to strike.

Union vote set for Oregon legislative aides

Ballots will be counted May 28 to determine if a group of 180 legislative assistants who work for individual Oregon lawmakers want a union.

Powell’s workers press for recall

The Powell’s Books union contract offers laid off workers recall rights when jobs reappear, but the CEO says those recall rights have expired.

Just weeks after IPS listed as ‘unfair,’ workers have a deal

IPS repairs electric motors and generators. Pay under the Metal Trades Council contracts runs from $22 to $33 an hour.  

Union accuses Kaiser of understaffing

OFNHP says understaffing is leading to high turnover at in Sunnyside’s Emergency Department—40 nurses (57%) have left in the last year.

White House task force will promote union organizing

Officially federal labor law is supposed to encourage collective bargaining, but Biden says the government "has not used its full authority.”

The Stand: boosting labor and labor’s story

Washington state’s best (and only) news outlet dedicated to unions and working people, The Stand just turned 10.

Under new union contract, Avamere nursing homes will pay the highest wages in the industry

The agreement also commits Avamere to union neutrality, which would speed unionization at more nursing homes and assisted living centers.

Governor Brown nominates unionists

Several union figures were among the 76 individuals recently appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to state board and commissions.

Boilermakers Local 242 elect new business manager

Local 242 represents workers in Oregon, Eastern Washington and Idaho who build and maintain boilers, tanks, and pressure vessels.