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
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.
Wisconsin judge strikes down draconian anti-union law
Wisconsin's Act 10, which stripped public sector workers of union rights, was the subject of nationwide union protests when it passed in 2011.
Ballot measures to watch
Workers rights will once again be on the ballot around the country this election as voters in five states decide on the minimum wage.
NLRB: Union organizing has doubled since 2022
It received 3,286 union election petitions in the 2024 federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 … and 21,292 unfair labor practice charges.
AFL-CIO ad campaign pushes Harris-Walz to union members
The national AFL-CIO will spend over $1 million on digital and streaming ads in seven “battleground” states to help elect Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris names a unionist as her VP
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a former public high school teacher and football coach, and was a member of the teachers union.
Illinois bans captive audience anti-union meetings
On July 31, Illinois became the eighth state to make it illegal for employers to punish workers for refusing to attend anti-union meetings.
Michigan Supreme Court overturns GOP lawmakers’ minimum wage dirty trick
The GOP-led legislature adopted the measure, then waited until after the election and voted to repeal what they adopted.
Trump to Elon: Fire strikers
In an online interview with Elon Musk, former president Donald Trump chortled at the idea of firing striking workers.
AFL-CIO endorses Kamala Harris
The AFL-CIO made the announcement the day after President Joe Biden announced an end to his campaign for re-election.
Teamster leader addresses Republican convention
O’Brien was on stage at Trump’s invitation, and thanked Trump for having the backbone to open the convention doors to a Teamster.