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.
Oregon
Lawmakers end Oregon’s lowest-in-nation OSHA penalties
A bill to toughen OSHA penalties is on its way to Governor Kotek’s desk after committee room drama and a failed GOP attempt to gut the bill.Â
Oregon bill would let workers refuse unsafe work
SB 907 passed out of the state Senate with a bipartisan 21-8 vote on April 13 and is now being taken up in the House.
Union Endorsements in Oregon’s May 2023 special election
Oregon’s May 2023 special election is mainly for school boards and special districts, plus filling a few vacancies in city and county office.
Local unions. Local politics.
Want to show union solidarity? Consider voting in school board races. Local elections affect communities and the workers that live there.
Labor-backed bills moving forward in the Oregon Legislature
A number of labor-backed bills in the Oregon Legislature have good chances of becoming law, including one to increase Oregon OSHA’s fines.
Breakthrough bill in Oregon Legislature would set safe hospital staffing
Oregon lawmakers have the chance to make historic improvements to healthcare, thanks to the collaboration of labor and hospital management.Â
Bill says demolition is public work too
SB 594 would add demolition and hazardous waste removal to the requirement that prevailing wage be paid on public construction projects.Â
Labor to lawmakers: Workers’ lives matter
Oregon OSHA has the lowest fines in the nation: The average for a fatal accident is $1,077. Oregon labor wants that to change.
Oregon paid leave ready to launch
Starting next September, Oregon workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks off using paid, parental leave.
Catching up with Christina
Worker-side labor attorney Christina Stephenson, Oregon’s next labor commissioner, describes her priorities for the job when she takes office next month.
WORKER POWER
During the 2022 election season, union backing was the decisive factor in hard-fought competitions like the race for Oregon governor.Â
Hospital board faces union-backed recall
The campaign submitted enough signatures to the Coos County Clerk’s office to hold a recall election for two Bay Area Health District board members.
Kotek embraces labor support in final election push
Tina Kotek has appeared at union meetings and alongside numerous labor allies in the days leading up to the election.
Union Guide to the 2022 General Election
This ballot guide lists candidates who have at least one labor organization endorsing them and who have opponents on the ballot.
Labor makes all-out push for Kotek
As House speaker for nine years, Democratic candidate for governor Tina Kotek delivered landmark union-backed legislation year after year.
Stephenson: Labor laws mean little without enforcement
Christina Stephenson says heightening BOLI’s wage theft enforcement will be a top priority if she’s elected as labor commissioner.
Unions back recall of Coos Bay hospital board
Decisions to close a psychiatric ward and hire a CEO previously convicted of fraud sparked community outrage.
Labor’s chance to send a nurse to Salem
Filling Betsy Johnson’s former seat with a solid unionist would be a big win for labor advocates in Oregon.
Recall removes unionist from Eugene City Council
Longtime union activist Claire Syrett, who was serving her third term on the Eugene City Council, lost a Sept. 6 special recall election.
State audit: Oregon Employment Department was already struggling—before the pandemic
The agency says it has hired hundreds of new workers and is making a handful of changes to improve claim response times.
