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:
Machinists District Lodge W24
Collective bargaining
Union busters file for decertification at Precision Castparts
The Milwaukie, Oregon-based company never accepted a 2017 vote by its welders to join the Machinists union.
Collective bargaining
Penske technicians get raises in 3-year contract
The three-year contract contains wage increases of 5.5% in the first year, 3.5% in the second and 3% in the third.
Union Organizing
Jim Fisher Volvo hires union-buster
A federal disclosure shows Jim Fisher himself made the agreement with a union-busting firm. Mandatory antiunion meetings started immediately.Â
Union Organizing
Jim Fisher Volvo mechanics look to unionize with Machinists
Workers pay to go to Volvo mechanic school hoping for a well-paying job, but end up making near minimum wage, and buying their own tools.
Union democracy
New leadership at Machinists District Lodge W24
Directing business representative Wayne Thompson has retired, and Brandon Bryant and Will Lukens are the new top officers.
Collective bargaining
Just weeks after IPS listed as ‘unfair,’ workers have a deal
IPS repairs electric motors and generators. Pay under the Metal Trades Council contracts runs from $22 to $33 an hour. Â
Workers Rights
Precision Castparts must recognize Machinists Union
Precision—a key Boeing supplier—has lost its marathon effort to avoid recognizing the choice of a group of welders to unionize.
Buying Union
Labor Council calls Integrated Power Services ‘unfair’
The union says electric motor repair shop IPS didn't bargain in good faith, and its Portland workers have voted to authorize a strike.
Building our communities
THE YEAR OF COVID
March 11 will mark a year since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. The pandemic hit the local union movement highly unevenly.
Union democracy
City of Portland union coalition has new leadership
DCTU—a coalition of six unions—negotiates a collective bargaining agreement that covers about 1,100 City of Portland employees in all.
In Memoriam
Brian Severns, 1949-2020
A shipyard worker, he served the Machinists as assistant directing business representative and led the Portland Metal Trades Council.
Jobs
How to get unemployment benefits while you’re still employed
Up to 10,000 Portland-area workers are getting paid more while working less thanks to a layoff prevention program.
People
Machinists District Lodge W24 rep Britt Cornman retires after decades in the labor movement
In a career that spanned mines, mills, railroad carrier, oil fields, and an assembly line, his support for the union once nearly got him killed.
Jobs
Georgia-Pacific Coos Bay: Another Oregon lumber mill closes for good
Georgia-Pacific abruptly closed its Coos Bay lumber mill April 11, permanently laying off 94 members of Machinists Local Lodge W261.
Union Organizing
THE REST OF THE STORY: A look back at some of the stories we reported in 2018 … and what happened afterward
Updates on the union campaigns at Precision Castparts, New Seasons, and Reed College, plus President Trump's "infrastructure Neverland"
Collective bargaining
Northwest Machinists members approve new four-year contract with Weyerhaeuser
Members voted down two previous company offers and authorized a strike.
Union Organizing
Yes, welders can unionize at Precision Castparts, NLRB rules
The case went all the way to Washington, DC, and back, along the way overturning a major Obama-era NLRB ruling.
Collective bargaining
Vigor shipyard workers vote to authorize strike
Tired of being disrespected, shipyard workers are demanding a family-friendly work week.
Union democracy
Metal trades council elects new officers
Jason Joeckel of Laborers Local 737 is the new secretary-treasurer of the Metal Trades Council, which represents workers at the Portland Shipyards.
Workers Rights
Trump NLRB majority puts Machinists election win at Precision Castparts back in legal limbo
The ruling has national ramifications, but whether the welders can unionize is again up to the Seattle NLRB office.
