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
Film/TV strike would be biggest ever
The strike by 60,000 members of IATSE will begin on Oct. 18 if no deal with producers has been reached by then.
Frontline healthcare workers strike McKenzie-Willamette
Members of Service Employees Local 49 are fighting for wage increases, improved job safety, and to stop the hospital from outsourcing jobs.
Nationwide strike at Kellogg’s
No contract? No Corn Flakes. About 1,400 Kellogg’s workers in Mich., Neb. Penn., and Tenn. struck Oct. 5 after months of mandatory overtime
Nabisco strike beats back demand for concessions
SOLIDARITY IS A MUSCLE In Portland and elsewhere, Nabisco strikers encountered extraordinary support, both on the picket lines and off. (Photo by Dan O’Donnell)
Hollywood strike could be coming
If 60,000 behind-the-scenes production workers walk out, it would be the biggest ever strike in the film and television industry.
Beneficial State Bank signs first union contract
CWA says it's the first group of bank employees to unionize in more than 40 years. At $20.50 an hour and over, wages may top the industry.
360 Sheet Metal management: “We do not agree with the law.”
Negotiations aren’t going well at 360 Sheet Metal in Vancouver. Union leaders say the company is going through the motions in bargaining.
Showdown looms as Kaiser sticks to pay-slashing proposals
Increasingly, Kaiser's union partnership appears to be unraveling, and for the second time in two years, it could be nearing a strike.
Nationwide Nabisco strike intensifies
‘No contract, no snacks’ Nabisco strikers are saying—their livelihoods on the line in a nationwide struggle against corporate greed.
“They don’t know their workers”
David Woods is the lead union negotiator trying to bargain a new contract at Nabisco. We spoke with him by phone Aug. 26.
Nabisco workers strike around the nation
It’s been a long time coming. Provoked by round after round of demands by Nabisco for concessions, the union BCTGM reached a breaking point.
Kaiser Permanente unions shocked by two-tier wage proposal
Is Kaiser’s reputation as a model union employer about to end? In bargaining, it's now proposing to pay new hires dramatically lower wages.
Strike ends at Topeka, Kansas Frito-Lay plant
Workers struck for wage increases and an end to forced overtime, but got only very modest improvements in the modified employer offer.
SEIU Local 49 ratifies new master janitorial agreement
Members of the union bargaining team that negotiated the master janitorial agreement. (Photo courtesy SEIU Local 49)
Painters Local 10 wins wage increases of up to $4.50
The first contract to be negotiated since members regained the right to strike contains the biggest raises in a generation.
As strike neared, Legacy Health Systems settled with SEIU Local 49
Help with advancement: Under their new contract, SEIU Local 49 members at Legacy Good Samaritan, above, have access to joint union-employer funds to pay tuition for classes that can help them get ahead.
Painters turn down $2.94 in raises, return to bargaining
A day after the lopsided vote to reject SPCO's offer, a competing contractor group offered $4.30 an hour over the same time frame.
Painters strikes end with major wage wins
After weeks of escalating strike action, Painters Local 10 reached a deal that if ratified will raise compensation by $3.50 to $4 an hour.
Painters pickets continue
The pickets are protesting contractors' failure to provide information that would justify their refusal to offer more than a 25¢ raise.
Wages rise $4.96 an hour in new Roofers contract
Journeyman roofers in Local 49 will earn a $37.73 wage as of July 1, plus $19.23 in fringe benefits like health and pension.
