City of Vancouver convention center protest grows louder
Building trades unions turned up the volume on a dispute they have with City Hall and the Vancouver Downtown Redevelopment Authority over the awarding of a contract on a new taxpayer-financed convention center and hotel. The contract was awarded to an out-of-state general contractor that reneged on its promise to sign a project labor agreement and build with an all-union labor force.

[Left: More than 100 people rallied at the Vancouver Convention Center and Hotel project at West Sixth and Columbia Streets, then marched to City Hall.]

Freightliner employees ratify contract
Feeling angry and betrayed by management, many union workers at Portland heavy truck manufacturer Freightliner voted reluctantly July 6 to accept a new three-year collective bargaining agreement.
Health insurance falling away, even for working people
More than three-quarters of Americans who lack health insurance are members of working families, according to a new report from Families USA, a non-profit health care advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Increasingly, the report suggests, members of the middle class find themselves uninsured.