Monthly Archives: February, 2022

Mirisata restaurant goes union

The vegan Sri Lankan spot on Southeast Belmont in Portland is a worker-owned co-op. Now non-owner employees will be union. 

Amazon shuts out union workers in Woodburn

Local building trade unions have been picketing the colossal construction site to protest out-of-state contractors and subpar wages.

U.S. trade deficit at highest level ever

America’s annual trade deficit—the amount by which imports are greater than exports—jumped 27% in 2021 to a new record, $859.1 billion.

Tina Kotek: all but one union endorsement so far

The latest unions to endorse the former Oregon House speaker are Northwest Carpenters and SEIU Locals 503 and 49, totaling 96,000 members.

He’s baaaack

Bill Sizemore, who was the Oregon union movement's foremost arch-nemesis in the 1990s, is running for governor again.

Oregon House debates farmworker overtime

Oregon agricultural workers could join the rest of the workforce in receiving overtime pay under a proposal in the legislature.

Oregon bill would end last-minute overtime in bakeries

Workers at the Nabisco Portland bakery currently face discipline for refusing to work extra shifts, even when notified at the last minute.

The Daily News offers 13¢ raise

The Longview newsroom joined the NewsGuild last May. But bargaining with Lee Enterprises—which owns 77 newspapers—isn't going well.

After two years, a new union contract for Portland police

The union and City have been negotiating the contract since early 2020, and have been in mediation since mid-2021.

SAG Awards set for Feb. 27

Tired of the tedium, the pomposity, the gaffes of the annual Academy Awards? That’s management’s award ceremony.

Labor bills moving in Olympia

Measures to expedite energy facility siting, promote apprenticeship, and set minimum health care staffing have passed their first chamber.

U.S. House passes postal reform in a lopsided bipartisan vote

HR 3076 would end the $5 billion yearly prepayment of future retirees’ health care costs, a requirement which causes nearly all USPS losses.

THE DEFENDER: Talking union with Portland Thorns player Emily Menges

NWSL players won a 60% raise in minimum salary in their first-ever union contract—five years after unionizing.

Labor heroes honored at sold-out Vancouver Hilton awards dinner

For Southwest Washington’s labor community, it was the first full-sized live labor gathering since the pandemic.

Employer-dominated union ousted at Mexican GM plant

An independent union won a landslide victory at a General Motors plant in central Mexico, a breakthrough for efforts to free Mexican workers.

Let ‘partners’ become partners

Have you noticed we don’t have workers in America anymore? Instead, we have associates, team members, crew members, and partners.

We’re here now, and we must act

When Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, it excluded farmworkers, who at the time were primarily African Americans.

The most pro-union president of your lifetime

Joe Biden isn’t getting a lot of love these days. But so far the record is clear: Labor has never had such a friend in the White House.

More Starbucks stores seek union

Nine Starbucks locations have now filed for union representation in Oregon, including six in Eugene alone.

Last minute deal averts strike at City of Portland

After the City of Portland improved its offer, workers voted to approve a new contract and call off the strike that was set to start Feb. 10.

Unsafe streets: Deteriorating public safety is impacting workers on the job

Attacks on parks workers. Assaults on bus drivers. Safety concerns are driving some employees to leave their jobs altogether.

Portland City workers set Feb. 10 strike date

Unless an agreement is reached before then, roughly 1,200 city workers represented by the District Council of Trade Unions will go on strike.