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.
Jobs
Unions don’t just fight for workers on the job. They also fight to secure jobs in the first place. They look for ways to protect workers from job loss due to mergers, outsourcing, and new technologies. And they do what they can to help workers in the event of layoff.
Smurfit Westrock packaging plant in Portland will close
When a North Portland packaging plant closes in June, 72 members of its partially unionized workforce will lose their jobs.
City of Portland unions say: Cut from the top, not the bottom
Unions at the City of Portland are sounding the alarm at possible layoffs of frontline workers that could unfairly spare city managers.
UPS closes its Swan Island hub to install automation
The company will lay off 244 members of Teamsters Local 162. The delivery hub will close June 30 for over a year.
Toyota announces plan to buy Cascade Steel
Radius, formerly Schnitzer Steel, includes over 100 scrapyards plus a steel rolling mill in McMinnville, Oregon.
Court halts Oregon governor’s executive order requiring project labor agreements
The construction trade group Associated General Contractors led a lawsuit saying Tina Kotek exceeded her legal authority.
Postal unions protest privatization threats nationwide
President Trump has said privatizing USPS was an idea he’d consider, and on Feb. 24 he said he may put it under the U.S. Commerce Department.
PGE plans for Forest Park power line go to Portland City Council
A city hearings officer was satisfied with PGE's plans to plant more than 900 smaller-stature trees, but opponents appealed the decision.
UFCW Local 555 fights sale of public hospital to private equity firm
Bay Area Hospital, governed by an elected board, is pursuing a partnership with Quorum Health to fix its dire financial situation.
Portland city official approves power line through Forest Park
PGE will mitigate the impact of expanding an existing power line through Portland's Forest Park by planting more trees than they'll remove.
Associated General Contractors sues Tina Kotek
Oregon's attorney general will defend the governor’s executive order, which directs state agencies to use project labor agreements.
NXT Clean Fuels cleared for takeoff, almost
NXT wants to spend $2.5 billion to construct a plant at the Port Westward Industrial Park in Clatskanie, Oregon.
Can Portland green the grid without cutting trees?
A union-backed PGE project to improve the electrical grid is facing environmental pushback in Forest Park.
Judge tosses Biden order on project labor agreements
So far, President Trump has left in place the Biden order requiring PLAs on federal construction projects.
Vigor to shut down former Oregon Iron Works
When Vigor shutters its fabrication ops later this year, 100 ironworkers, boilermakers, and electricians will lose their jobs.
Kotek: Oregon will use project labor agreements, period
Oregon's governor is directing all state agencies, when they do construction, to require contractors to commit to using union labor.
Kroger-Albertsons merger collapses
Kroger’s costly effort to buy Albertsons fell apart when not one but two judges blocked the grocery merger. Now Albertsons is suing Kroger.
Anheuser-Busch moves to close Elysian Brewing
The closure comes after brewery workers there unionized and spent a year trying to negotiate a first contract.
Oregon Supreme Court hears AGC suit against project labor agreements
The lawsuit is one of a handful around the country that are challenging agreements that public agencies make with construction unions.
Boeing lays off 3,500
This batch of layoffs is just the first. Boeing announced in October that it would lay off 17,000 employees, 10% of its global workforce.
Dennis Uniform shuts down nationwide
Founded in Portland in 1920, Dennis Uniform eventually grew to become the largest school uniform supplier in the United States.
