Analysis

A labor movement look at the 2020 election results

How labor-backed candidates and ballot measures fared locally and nationwide.

Gallup poll shows public approval of unions growing

This year, 65% of respondents said they approve, tying with 2003 and 1999 as the highest levels in the last 53 years.

Nationwide strike wave continued in 2019

The strike wave that began in 2018 continued in 2019, according to the annual work stoppages report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Union membership continues decline

Union membership dropped in 2019 to 14,574,000, down 170,000 (0.2%) from 2018, according to the latest annual report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics...

2019 in review

As chronicled in the Northwest Labor Press, here are some of the year’s most important developments for labor and working people.

In Oregon, having a union at work means an extra $4,701 a year, and better benefits

A new report from the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center finds that Oregon workers covered by a union contract earn 11 percent more than non-union workers.

The latest figures on union membership

The latest BLS report shows Washington as the nation's third most-unionized, while Oregon is tied for #11.

2018 in review

As chronicled in the Northwest Labor Press, here are some of the most important developments for labor and working people in 2018.

How to restore the power of unions

Unions have been under decades of attack, but several labor thinkers have put forward ideas to spark the comeback that working people need.

Lessons of the West Virginia teachers strike

One of the strike’s leaders will be visiting Portland July 23.

Janus is upon us, ready or not

More than ever, public sector unions will need to engage members to take on the work of the union, and focus on bargaining for the common good.

STRIKE! Could the red-state teacher walkouts herald a return of labor’s long-forgotten tactic?

In an era when the strike seems all but dead, it feels like the beginning of a strike wave.

Union membership rates held steady in 2017

10.7 percent of American workers are union members.

2017 in review

As chronicled in 24 issues of the Northwest Labor Press: some of the year’s most important developments for labor and working people.

White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America

Ivy Leaguer says elites had better start treating the ‘White Working Class’ with respect.

Public education is under attack, but the public is coming to its defense

AFT president Randi Weingarten says Trump and DeVos have galvanized public support for public education as never before.

Class War in the Capital City

In his new book, Gordon Lafer argues there's a top-down class war under way, in which business groups are using state legislatures to remake America.

The Strike: U.S. labor’s long-lost weapon

Major work stoppages have declined over 95 percent since the 1940s.

Could unions be getting more popular? New poll shows surge in support

The latest Pew poll shows 60% of Americans favor unions, the second-highest level since 1985.

Annual survey records further union membership declines

Union membership fell to 10.7 percent of the U.S. workforce, and 6.4 percent in the private sector.

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