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.
Mallory Gruben
Mallory Gruben served as Northwest Labor Press staff reporter from February 2023 to May 2024. She grew up in rural Colorado, where her mom was the president of her letter carriers union local. At Hastings College she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and campaigned successfully to save the student newspaper. She worked at The Daily News in Longview, Washington, freelanced for the Newport News-Times and The Astorian, and served as a local reporter and Report for America corps member at The Daily Herald in Everett, Washington where she helped unionize the newsroom with the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild.
Culture
Change makers: Electrical Workers Minority Caucus turns 50
The second Tuesday of each month, about two dozen members meet at the union hall to mentor and encourage fellow minorities.
Union Organizing
Outsourced lab workers unionize
Legacy Health System contracted out its labs to LabCorp. Now 435 lab workers who used to work at Legacy are union-represented.
Union Organizing
Teamsters pause funeral home union campaign but expect to re-file
The campaign aims to unionize local workers at the largest provider of funeral and cemetery services in North America.
Jobs
Port of Portland to close its container terminal
The closure of Oregon’s only international shipping container service in October could affect nearly 1,500 jobs across the state.
Collective bargaining
Tensions rising between NW Natural and union
The utility company informed union workers that it plans to train non-union staff to do their jobs in case there is a strike.
Union Organizing
Funeral home chain could go union
Teamsters Local 305 has launched a union campaign for undertakers employed by Service Corporation International in Oregon and Washington.
Collective bargaining
PeaceHealth offer would lock in lower pay for home care
Home care RNs have a critical decision to make: agree to be paid less than hospital nurses, or go on strike a second time for equal pay.Â
Workers Rights
Montessori meltdown: Portland preschools close amid union push
Guidepost Montessori closed two preschools and furloughed nearly 30 workers after workers announced plans to unionize with ILWU Local 5.
Jobs
SMART 16 protests data center for dumping union contractor
HITT Construction replaced Local 16 union crews with a non-local, non-union subcontractor at the last minute.Â
Trade
Blumenauer’s final stand: Cutting back a trade loophole
Nearly a billion packages were mailed directly and duty free from China to U.S. consumers last year, some containing narcotics.
Workers Rights
New ‘Cemex’ rule makes unionizing easierÂ
It’s the latest measure from the NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo intended to short-circuit union-busting.
Union Organizing
300 more PeaceHealth SW workers go union
The unit would include audiologists, pharmacists, counselors, dieticians, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and others.
Collective bargaining
New contract at Portland Hilton, after two years bargaining
A new agreement with UNITE HERE Local 8 raises wages and restores automatic daily room cleaning at the Hilton and Duniway hotels in Portland.Â
Worker safety
The 10 most dangerous jobs
Vehicle accidents and falls caused more than half of on-the-job deaths in 2022. Here are the jobs with the highest rates of fatal injuries.
Worker safety
Killed on the job in 2023
Here are the names of the 66 Oregon and Southwest Washington workers who died on the job or from injuries sustained while working last year.
Worker safety
Increasingly, letter carriers face armed robbery
To counter a 200% increase in robberies of letter carriers in the last six years, lawmakers introduced a new bill at their union's request.Â
People
On a mission to organize every sign shop
One diehard union supporter has played a part in all three sign shops that unionized in the last several years.
Jobs
Vancouver school districts cut staff amid $54M deficit
Facing multi-million dollar budget deficits, Vancouver’s two school districts are on track to eliminate 402 positions.
Collective bargaining
Union arts employers pinched by rising rents, falling support
Oregon Symphony is paying 50% more for the Schnitzer, and arts tax funds are being diverted to smaller groups.
Collective bargaining
Mt. Hood faculty win raises
A new four-year contract raises pay 18-21% for about 150 faculty members represented by the MHCC Faculty Association.
