Northwest Labor Press

Local 555 withdrew last month from the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, a group that bargains for Kaiser employees in seven states.

Northwest pharmacists walked out Oct. 1, and 75,000 other Kaiser workers in five states began their own strike Oct. 4.

OFNHP and PeaceHealth are far apart on wages for lab techs and maintenance workers at hospitals in Vancouver and Longview.

The agreement with Oregon Nurses Association covers almost 3,200 nurses there. It also sets safe staffing standards and improves safety.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon’s lone Republican Congresswoman, is courting organized labor.

Over 210 delegates and 100 honorary delegates and guests assembled Sept. 21-23 in Bend for the state’s biggest labor gathering.

The council, made up of 27 AFL-CIO-affiliated local unions, held its convention Sept. 26-28 at Running Y Ranch near Klamath Falls.

The vote means the union of 1,350 school secretaries, teaching assistants, and other classified staff, is back to the bargaining table.

PAT is pursuing a strategy known as “bargaining for the common good,” incorporating community members’ ideas into their contract.

Workers at Elysian Brewing Co. in Seattle voted 20-12 to join Teamsters Local 117. It’s one of just a handful of unionized craft breweries.