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.
Tag:
IBEW Local 48
Analysis
2024: The rest of the story
We’ve reported over 300 stories in 2024. At year's end, we update readers about what happened since we published some of those stories.Â
Culture
Local 48 pin swap meet
Many IBEW locals produce coins, pins, sweatshirts and other swag, and many members collect and trade them.
Building our communities
IBEW Local 48 energizes Christmas Festival of Lights
It’s a record turnout at the Grotto as volunteer union electricians wire the beloved festival.
Union Organizing
IBEW Local 48 volunteers conduct organizing blitz
For three nights in late July, 115 volunteers knocked on the doors of over 650 non-union electricians to invite them to join IBEW Local 48.
Culture
A union picnic for the ages
Over 4,000 union electricians and family members attended the five-hour event at the union headquarters July 14.
People
Looking back on Local 48
Charyle Molden found a job, and blazed a trail, as the first Black woman in IBEW Local 48.
Culture
Union Pride: IBEW Local 48 hall gets a major overhaul
A top-to-bottom remodel of Local 48’s union hall is in the final stages of completion. More than a makeover, it's a showcase of union talent.
Culture
Change makers: Electrical Workers Minority Caucus turns 50
The second Tuesday of each month, about two dozen members meet at the union hall to mentor and encourage fellow minorities.
In Memoriam
Jerry Bruce, 1936-2024
The former IBEW Local 48 business manager helped move the union hall and set up the union's market recovery and flex benefits plans.
People
On a mission to organize every sign shop
One diehard union supporter has played a part in all three sign shops that unionized in the last several years.
International
More local unions pass resolutions on Gaza
The latest resolutions call for an end to arming and funding Israel, and for Israel to vacate Gaza and the West Bank.
Collective bargaining
Trades workers ratify contract at Home Forward
The three-year contract covers 56 trades workers. It raises starting pay $9 an hour on average and adds new safety provisions.Â
Collective bargaining
Portland Sign Co. signs first union contract
Portland Sign Co. became the second company to sign a union contract with IBEW Local 48, and a third may be close behind.
Jobs
To avoid bankruptcy, ILWU pays $20.5 million to replace a shipper’s lost profits
It’s the final chapter in a fight over two jobs, a dispute that shut down container shipping in Portland for years.
Collective bargaining
Schoolhouse Electric signs first union contract with IBEW 48
The three-year agreement sets starting wages at $20 an hour, up from $18 an hour, and provides overtime pay after 8 hours in a day.
Union democracy
Kevin Lux of IBEW Local 48 succeeds Willy Myers at building trades council
Delegates to the Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council elected Kevin Lux as executive secretary-treasurer Jan. 2.
Building our communities
Tradeswomen build nations
It was the largest gathering of its kind. At Women Build Nations, 3,900 attendees paraded down the streets of the nation’s capital.
Building our communities
Local 48 Rosies head to Honolulu
IBEW Local 48’s Sisters in Solidarity group traveled to Honolulu to take part in a National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony.
Collective bargaining
IBEW Local 48 gets $13/hour increase over three years
Members of IBEW Local 48 ratified three agreements in the last month that cover nearly all of the union’s 6,000 members.
Jobs
Portland Public Schools is skimping on maintenance
A new report paid for by the district confirms what union tradespeople who maintain schools have been saying for years.
