Northwest Labor Press is an independent union-supported newspaper founded in 1900. Our print version is mailed twice a month to about 45,000 members of over three dozen local unions in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our online version has been maintained here since 1997.
Don McIntosh
Editor Don McIntosh has been with the Northwest Labor Press since 1998. Born in Baltimore, he moved to Portland in 1985, and first practiced journalism at the Daily Vanguard, Portland State University's student newspaper. After earning a bachelor's in history, he served as an underground union organizer (salt) with Teamsters Local 174 in Seattle. Back in Portland, he wrote for the Portland Business Journal and Willamette Week and was editor of the Portland Alliance, a monthly community newspaper.
National
Unions defend detained members as deportations escalate
The arrests sparking union attention include unauthorized immigrants, legal permanent residents and visa-holders, and even a U.S. citizen.
National
Trump administration says crypto is fine as a pension investment
Cryptocurrency has no inherent value and generates no income. That’s why in 2022 DOL advised retirement plans against considering it.
Jobs
As session nears end, transportation workers worry for their jobs
Oregon lawmakers are weighing new taxes to pay for roads, but opponents may try to refer the bill to the ballot to try to defeat it.
Jobs
Layoffs coming at Daimler’s Portland truck plant
The company is offering $55,000 buyouts as it prepares to slash production from its current 21 trucks a day to 12.
Training the Next Generation
A Local 49 roofer at the top of his trade
Jose Parra Pineda, a fourth-year apprentice in Roofers Local 49, took first place in a national apprentice competition May 13-15 in Minnesota.
National
Trump budget plan slashes Labor Department
Labor-related programs like JobCorps, a "failed experiment" according to the Trump budget, are slated for elimination.
Workers Rights
Jury orders $345,000 damages in Franz Bakery sex harassment case
Reading the legal complaint and the sworn depositions, the Springfield bakery sounds like something out of the 1970s.
National
Smith Tower buffeted by Trump funding freeze
Vancouver's iconic circular high-rise has provided housing to low-income seniors for 60 years. Its managers want to make it new again.
Worker safety
Floor covering STARs
Safety training pays off! Local floor coverers who pursue skills and safety education are honored with a banquet and prizes.
Collective bargaining
UO undergrad workers strike for a contract
As many as 4,000 student workers at UO went on strike April 28, shutting down university dining halls — and an active construction site.
Washington
Washington labor scores wins in Olympia despite budget cuts
Policy bills mostly took a back seat as the legislature spent most of its time grappling with a forecasted $16 billion budget shortfall.
National
Judge blocks Trump order that busts unions for federal workers
To bust their unions, Trump declared falsely that dozens of agencies — from BLM to the EPA — have national security as their core mission.
Labor History
Honors for recording our labor history
Jim Strassmaier worked to curate an archive of recorded interviews of prominent labor leaders and activists.
Building our communities
Bricklayer volunteers honor veterans
A stone monument commissioned by the Roosevelt High Alumni Association lists the names of alumni who lost their lives in military service.
Union democracy
New business manager to lead Cement Masons Local 555
Nick Harrington has been a member since 2004 and has worked for just about every company that’s signatory with the local.
In Memoriam
Tiffany Thompson, 1985-2025
At Oregon Tradeswomen, Thompson helped train women in the trades to speak to women and girls about careers in the skilled trades.
National
Federal unions go to court to stop Trump order on union rights
Two cases are pending challenging the order that strips about 1 million federal workers of their all union rights.
National
NLRB’s Gwynne Wilcox: back again, gone again
The National Labor Relations Board is once again without a quorum, which means that labor law appeals will be frozen.
National
Labor demands return of union apprentice jailed in El Salvador
The deportation case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and is drawing worldwide attention.
Oregon
Oregon’s minimum wage to rise by 2.4%
The new rates will be $16.30 in the Portland Metro Area, $14.05 in rural counties of eastern and Southern Oregon, and $15.05 in the rest.
