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.
Labor History
Bricklayers Local 1 celebrates 125 years
When BAC Local 1 began on May 22, 1893, bricklayers were making $6 a day and working six 10-hour days a week.
Operating Engineers Local 701 celebrates its centennial
Oregon was a very different place when the International Union of Steam Operating Engineers chartered a new local Sept. 18, 1918.
United Way’ers, labor partners from across the country take part in ‘Labor Walk’
The 1.7-mile-walk through downtown Portland stopped at spots important to local labor history.
Solidarity — Now, and Forever: Tacoma labor honors the man who wrote “Solidarity Forever”
In Tacoma, Ralph Chaplin’s spirit is marching on.
Song of the Stubborn One Thousand
A new book tells the story of a remarkable union victory in a California frozen food strike during an era of union-busting.
The master organizer behind César Chávez
Fred Ross believed a good union organizer should fade into the crowd while others step forward.
Return of the Loyal Legion?
A SE Portland beer hall takes its name from an early 20th century union-busting group
The Labor Press — in 1916
This year we're reproducing the front pages of 1916 editions.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s unfinished labor
In the end, King turned his focus to economic justice.
Letter Carriers Branch 82 celebrates 125 years of union
Branch 82 maintains photos and detailed historical records dating back to its formation in 1890.
Poet, songwriter, labor activist Joe Hill had connections to Portland
Don't mourn, organize: Local activists will commemorate the 100th anniversary of his execution
Beyond ‘Wages, Benefits and Working Conditions’
In post-war St. Louis, two visionary Teamsters put their union in service of the community.
Latest trade union spy novel published to acclaim
Local union attorney Susan Stoner has published the fifth in her series of historical novels
Remembering Portland Longshore’s Bloody Wednesday
On July 11, 1934, a train full of Portland police opened fire on a strike picketline; 4 were hit.
A look back: Astoria’s radical immigrant labor past
Astoria, the U.S. oldest western settlement, was a waterfront boomtown full of radical immigrants
Labor attorney publishes fourth in series of novels about Portland’s trade union past
The historical mystery series follows a fictional trade union spy in early 1900s Portland.
1963 March on Washington — time to march again
Conventional narratives of the March downplay its economic demands — and labor’s central role
2011: Year One of the Great Fightback
2011 —Year 3 of the Great Recession — may be remembered as Year 1 of the Great Fightback.
100 years later, forgotten Chehalis ‘Girls’ are honored
A new monument marks the grave of eight Chehalis girls killed in a 1911 fire at Imperial Powder.
New book brings to life MLK’s dreams of economic justice
Labor scholar Michael Honey has published a collection of King’s speeches about economic justice.