Monthly Archives: August, 2021

Nabisco workers strike around the nation

It’s been a long time coming. Provoked by round after round of demands by Nabisco for concessions, the union BCTGM reached a breaking point.

Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, dies at 72

Trumka was the fifth person to serve as president since the AFL-CIO was formed in 1955, and was the first AFL-CIO president to die in office.

Labor-endorsed candidates advance in Southwest Washington primary

All six candidates endorsed by the SW Washington CLC will go on to the November general election, and five were the top vote-getters. 

UA Local 290’s training facility welcomes Labor Secretary Walsh

Walsh, together with Congressman Peter DeFazio and Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, toured the union’s training facility in Springfield.

Unions call for Medicare to lower drug prices

Senator Jeff Merkley is sponsoring a bill to require drug companies to sell products in the U.S. at the same price as other rich countries.

OPINION: Millions of Americans are employed because of natural gas

Renewable gas projects are predicted to create 7.3 million jobs by 2050. These are family-wage jobs that come with healthcare and pensions.

Rich would want us to not miss a beat

Rich Trumka believed in the potential of strong local and state labor movements, and invested and supported state federations like ours.

Kaiser Permanente unions shocked by two-tier wage proposal

Is Kaiser’s reputation as a model union employer about to end? In bargaining, it's now proposing to pay new hires dramatically lower wages. 

Strike ends at Topeka, Kansas Frito-Lay plant 

Workers struck for wage increases and an end to forced overtime, but got only very modest improvements in the modified employer offer.

Fill the Boot is back

In Vancouver, Fire Fighters Local 452 will raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Sept. 9 and 10.

SEIU Local 49 ratifies new master janitorial agreement

About 1,800 janitors will see wages rise $2.25 an hour over the next three years, reaching $18 an hour in year three.

Painters Local 10 wins wage increases of up to $4.50

The first contract to be negotiated since members regained the right to strike contains the biggest raises in a generation.

As strike neared, Legacy Health Systems settled with SEIU Local 49

1,100 hospital workers at Legacy Emanuel and Good Samaritan were set to walk out July 15; instead they ratified a five-year contract.

As the nation reeled, CEO pay rose 

CEO pay increased an incredible $712,720 last year on average among S&P 500 companies, according to the latest annual report by the AFL-CIO.

Case dismissed: Scabby the rat beats the rap

Scabby is 12' tall and has red eyes, fangs, and claws. It may be scary looking, but the beloved inflatable is not an outlaw, the NLRB says.

U.S. Senate confirms three union attorneys to NLRB

The Senate confirmation votes, mostly along party lines, will give the NLRB a worker-friendly majority once again.

Michael D. Smith, 1953-2021

A business representative of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, he was involved in the lengthy CleanPak strike that began in 1998.

IBEW Local 48 hosts ‘drive thru’ picnic for 6,700 members

Members pre-registered and were assigned time slots and the picnic was held in shifts over two Sundays in July.

As USPS turns 246, unions vow to keep it going

Union and community members celebrated the 246th birthday of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) at a rally July 26.