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.
Collective bargaining
Sound & Comm electricians get $3.43 raise
The one-year contract between IBEW Local 48 and NECA covers more than 750 workers in the Sound & Communications unit.
Multnomah County: You’ll get your pay … later
The county says workers won’t get retroactive raises—ratified in November with back pay stretching back to July—until February.
Portland laborers closer to strike
Laborers Local 483 and the City are far apart on wage negotiations, meaning workers across three City bureaus could strike in early February.
City workers practice picketing as management continues to stall
In the month since the City of Portland pledged to present its wage proposal to Laborers Local 483, workers still haven’t received an offer.
United Airlines unions unite on bargaining
Together, the 78,000 workers represented by the five member unions make up 85% of United Airlines’ workforce.
Massive graduate worker strike shuts down UC system
The University of California work stoppage is the biggest U.S. strike of 2022, and also the biggest higher education strike in U.S. history.
Biden: Congress should impose rail contract
To win paid sick days, union rail workers are ready for a nationwide strike. But Biden wants Congress to force them to accept a contract they rejected.
What do airport workers want? Raises that beat inflation
Portland International Airport workers represented by IBEW Local 48 and Laborers Local 483 are tired of working without raises.
AFSCME Local 88 members ratify Multnomah County contract
The vote came after about seven months of bargaining and a handful of rallies AFSCME staged outside county facilities.
Nurses at Providence Hood River hospital approve deal
Ratified in late October, it’s the fourth Providence contract to be approved this year, and three more are still being negotiated.
Contract fight looms for City of Portland laborers
After seven months of bargaining, workers across three City of Portland bureaus have signaled they’re willing to strike.
Graduate workers ratify contract with PSU
The Graduate Employees Union proposed the university provide workers with health insurance subsidies, but management declined.
Is OHSU trying to weasel out of promised raises?
Just weeks after AFSCME Local 328 ratified a contract with Oregon Health & Science University, management is violating the terms of the deal.
Weyerhaeuser mills reopen after 48-day Machinists strike
For the first time since 1986, loggers and millworkers faced off against one of the world’s biggest corporations.
Tentative agreement at Multnomah County
If approved, the contract would bring a 5% cost-of-living adjustment retroactive to July 1, along with a $2,500 immediate bonus.
Northwest Starbucks workers prepare to bargain
In Oregon and Washington, union Starbucks shops have bargaining dates set throughout November and early December.
AFSCME members ratify new deal with Transition Projects
The contract covers case managers, residential advocates and other workers helping people transition from homelessness into housing.
Weyerhaeuser strike: Six weeks in, still no deal
Machinists union members voted down another Weyerhaeuser proposal that failed to fix the core issues behind the walkout.
OPB workers ratify contract bringing raises and bonus
In the end, management proposed a 4% raise in year one and merit-based raises of at least 1.5% in years 2 and 3.
OHSU workers ratify contract
AFSCME Local 328’s new agreement guarantees across-the-board raises of 7% in year one and 5% in years two and three.
