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.
National
Judges order reinstatement of fired federal workers
Tens of thousands of federal workers were illegally fired during their probationary period under orders from the Trump administration.
Trump cancels union rights for TSA officers
Trump appointee Kristi Noem ended collective bargaining for 47,000 TSA officers, trash-talked the union, and slammed public employee rights.
Judge: Trump firing of NLRB member was illegal
The National Labor Relations Board is back in business thanks to a federal court ruling.
Trump administration: Do your own card check
FMCS will stop providing free “card check” services when employers agree to recognize a union based on signed union authorization cards.
DOGE: Too many labor mediators?
FMCS helps avert strikes by sending mediators to shuttle between union and employer negotiators when talks break down.
Bipartisan bill would ensure that if workers unionize, they get a contract
Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley signed on to the bill, which was sponsored by Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Senate confirms Trump labor secretary
Lori Chavez-DeRemer won Senate confirmation 67-32, with Democrats split and a few Republicans voting against her for being too pro-union.
Chavez-DeRemer walks back support for PRO Act
President Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary, a former Oregon Congresswoman, won’t push a minimum wage increase either.
Federal worker purge hits the Northwest hard
Trump’s mass firing of probationary employees is hitting workers who fight forest fires and maintain the power grid.
Montana right-to-work bill defeated
It was the third time since 2021 that a bill to make Montana a “right-to-work” state has failed in the state legislature.
Trump 2.0
Federal workers — including wildfire fighters — face mass firings, hiring freezes, and return-to-office rules under new executive orders.
Trump firings hobble the NLRB
Biden appointee Jennifer Abruzzo reformed NLRB. Now she's gone, along with NLRB Board member Gwynne Wilcox.
Merkley backs Chavez-DeRemer for labor secretary
No date has been set yet for a Senate confirmation hearing.
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.
Dock workers reach agreement ahead of strike
Leaders of the International Longshore Association say support from president-elect Donald Trump made the difference.
Annual homeless count nears three quarters of a million
One in every 435 people living in the United States is homeless. And that's an 18.1% increase over the previous year.
Carter presidency was a turning point for labor
Jimmy Carter's post-presidency work earned wide admiration, but his policies in office on labor were disastrous.
The do-nothing Congress
This most recent Congress was the least productive since before the Civil War — just 158 bills in two years.
Manchin and Sinema torpedo Biden’s NLRB nominee
Workers lost a champion on the board that interprets labor law as Senate Republicans reject NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran.
Trump taps Chavez-DeRemer for labor secretary
Oregon’s pro-labor Republican lost her seat in the House. Now she’ll go to the Senate for a cabinet confirmation hearing.