Analysis

Labor’s ultimate weapon is rarely used today. So we asked readers who’ve been on strike: What’s it like? Three of them shared their stories.

Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 10.1% of U.S. workers were union members in 2022, the lowest level on record.

And why is the Federal Reserve focused on holding down wages, when it’s prices that are driving inflation?

Since the start of 2022, we’ve reported over 400 stories - here, we check in on what’s happened since we last reported on some of them.

Oregon’s three billionaires hold about $53 billion in wealth, while the bottom half of all Oregonians own about $27 billion.

The $1.3 million difference was greater than the difference between those who did and didn’t attend college.

Leaders of the new union were the guests of honor at the annual Portland Jobs with Justice dinner this month.

In this year's Gallup poll, 71% of respondents said they approve of labor unions, and 40% felt union membership was "extremely important."

Washington is a close third, according to a recent report released by the global antipoverty nonprofit Oxfam.

When it comes to openness about how much money they make, Gen Z is all about pay transparency. The Baby Boom generation, not so much.

If you haven’t gotten an 8.6% raise over the past year, you’re not keeping up with inflation, which is at its highest level since 1981.

Two decades of Gallup polls show a trend: Americans are increasingly calling themselves “working class” again.

Unemployment was down to 4.0% last month, almost back to 3.5%, where it was two years ago before the pandemic.

Bureau of Labor Statistics reports annually on large work stoppages. Here are the 16 major actions happened in 2021, and how they turned out.

The year 2021 had twice as many large work stoppages as 2020, but still far fewer than in the teachers-union-led strike surge of 2018-2019.

Wages for U.S. workers rose 4.5% in 2021, the fastest in 13 years. The biggest were in “leisure and hospitality” where wages jumped 14%.

Last year’s jump in the percentage of workers who are union-represented appears to have been related to COVID.

The year 2021 in labor: A strike wave, eye-popping wage gains in bargaining, statehouse victories. And polls say unions are popular again.

In one survey by Oregon Nurses Association, 60% of nurses said they're considering leaving the profession.

In the latest Gallup poll results, 68% of Americans said they approve of unions, 28% disapprove, and 4% had no opinion.