Machinists union members at mills and logging operations across Washington and Oregon voted May 19-20 in person to ratify a new set of four-year agreements with Weyerhaeuser. The contract settlement encompasses 14 individual agreements covering 1,160 union members in four locals: W130 in Centralia, W246 in Springfield, W261 in North Bend, and W536 in Longview. Members of those locals are employed by Weyerhaeuser in sawmills, export yards, logging camps, and trucking operations.
The agreements raise wages 11% over four years and provide a $3,000 signing bonus upon ratification. They also improve retirement benefits and make vacation scheduling more flexible. The employee share of health insurance premiums will hold steady in the first and fourth years but increase in the second and third years, though after the increases the employee share of the premium will still be less than 5%.
The previous agreement came after a 48-day strike in September and October 2022. It was the first time Weyerhaeuser workers had struck in the Northwest since 1986. The agreement that ended the strike also came with a $3,000 signing bonus and raised wages 14% over four years, but came with a concession: It required employees to pay a portion of health insurance premiums for the first time: $24 a month for individual coverage, or about $70 for family coverage.
Under the new contract, employee-only coverage will rise to $36 a month in 2028 and $50 a month in 2029; employee plus family coverage will rise to $94 and $132.
This year’s contract settlement is a little less generous, but it comes in a different economic climate, said Machinists District W24 President Brandon Bryant. Weyerhaeuser revenue has been declining in recent years in the face of softening demand for lumber in residential homebuilding, though the company remains profitable and reported $1.025 billion in net earnings in 2025.
“The 14% last time was when they were making record profits coming out of the pandemic,” Bryant said. “They were making money hand over foot. This time the company had gone through multiple years of losses in their sawmills, so getting 11% we think was pretty equitable.”
Bryant said the tone at the bargaining table was noticeably different this time around. The union went into bargaining with workers having voted overwhelmingly in the Spring to authorize the union to call a strike. The union made it clear it wanted to get an agreement ratified before the May 31 expiration of the existing contracts. The company agreed. Historically with Weyerhaeuser bargaining goes well past contract expiration.
Since the 2022 strike, both Washington and Oregon have passed laws allowing strikers to collect some unemployment benefits, and it’s possible that factored into the company’s calculus.
Last time, Weyerhaeuser relied on an outside attorney to negotiate on its behalf, Bryant said. This time the company was represented by managers more knowledgeable about Weyerhaeuser operations.
The two sides held non-stop negotiations starting May 4 and hammered out a deal in about a week and a half.
