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.
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Shipping returns to Portland’s Terminal 6
South Korea-based container carrier SM Lines will get a state subsidy to ship to Portland. A longshore union slowdown has been blamed for shippers pulling out, but other factors increasingly make container shipping to Portland a challenge.
On the Job with IUEC Local 23
A combination electrician, iron worker and finish carpenter, elevator constructors are highly-paid specialists among building trades workers.
Backers of Major League Baseball sign ‘harmony agreement’ with labor
Once a baseball team is secured, a stadium built, and workers hired, unions in the harmony agreement will have access to workers within their jurisdictions, and can organize them via card-check.
Union employer Vigor Industrial sold to private equity firms
As part of the deal, Vigor will merge with an 800-employee ship repair and maintenance company in Norfolk, Virginia.
Oregon AFL-CIO files ballot initiative to reduce self-checkout at grocery stores
The Oregon AFL-CIO filed a prospective ballot initiative July 18 to regulate the number of self-checkout stations in Oregon’s grocery stores.
“The goal of our...
Operating Engineers pickets question Boeing’s Integrity
When Local 701 pickets went up against a non-union equipment operator, members of Iron Workers Local 29 and other unions walked out, teaching apprentices the meaning of solidarity.
Portland City Council votes to end funding for five community recreation facilities
Up to 56 newly unionized workers will be laid off.
Georgia-Pacific Coos Bay: Another Oregon lumber mill closes for good
Georgia-Pacific abruptly closed its Coos Bay lumber mill April 11, permanently laying off 94 members of Machinists Local Lodge W261.
Plasterers Local 82 showcase their work for visiting architects
Apprentices demonstrated historical restoration, venetian plastering, stuccoing, and more.
County’s new health headquarters is union-made
Most of the work on the $94.1 million project was done union, and all parties worked to ensure women and minorities got opportunities on the project.
Rat spotted at Pearl District apartments
At Modera Glisan Project, nonunion temps are operating outside elevators instead of skilled Operating Engineers.
Union labor is remaking Portland’s Providence Park soccer stadium
The project will employ 120 union members at its peak.
On the job with IATSE Local 28
Almost no one knows what they do, but entertainment riggers are the workers that make the spectacle of show business possible.
On the Job with Plasterers Local 82
You might think plasterers would mostly be working in plaster, but today, fireproofing makes up half of Plasterers Local 82’s work.
Transit union cries foul as TriMet contracts out shuttle service for its own drivers
Is Oregon’s largest transit agency incapable of operating a single shuttle bus? You might think so given a recent TriMet board action.
So much for antitrust? Government approves merger of paper mill giants
More paper mill closures ahead? The nation’s second largest paper producer just gobbled up the fifth largest.
Topping-out ceremony at new Multnomah County courthouse
The steel framework on the new courthouse is near completion.
Municipal broadband now before Portland City Council
Multnomah County and four other cities are waiting for Portland City Council to authorize its share of funding for a study of what it would cost to install fiber-optic cable door to door.
New interactive tool looks at critical repairs needed at National Parks in Oregon
Tool breaks down $116.5 million of overdue repairs by park and type.
Private monopolies failed to deliver fiber. Now it’s time for municipal broadband.
Coming soon to Portland City Council is a union-backed plan for public-owned Internet access that would be cheaper than Comcast and 40 times as fast.
