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.
Union Organizing
Unions are democratic organizations of workers — united for mutual aid and protection. In this section, we report on efforts to unionize non-union workplaces, and on employer efforts to oppose unionization.
Shipyard painters vote to stay union
Some workers signed a decertification petition asking for an election to go back non-union. But the tally was 17 to 12 to remain.
NLRB slaps down KGW-TV anti-union maneuvers
A set of bad faith anti-union legal filings by KGW-TV against IBEW Local 48 have met their end.
CEO says JH Kelly doesn’t ‘need or want’ office union
Fast-growing all-union construction contractor says ‘no thanks’ to office workers unionizing.
Oregon State University opposes union of women basketball players
The public university has hired a top anti-union law firm to stop the players union.
Workers unionize at Sliders PDX Williams
PDX Sliders hired Ogletree Deakins, a management-side labor law firm that specializes in “union avoidance.”
OSU women’s basketball players form a union
The Lady Beavs filed for union recognition the same day a new national college player union launched.
Crisis hotline workers will vote on union
Hundreds of remote workers will decide whether to join OPEIU Local 11.
Parking workers at Moda Center join Laborers Local 737
Attendees pay $37 to park at events. Parking workers make $19.50 an hour ... and park their own cars in a gravel lot by the railroad tracks.
More workers join union at the Portland Japanese Garden
Management said no to miso soup and rice. Now Brad Avakian is at the table.
Union magic: A new union at Wizards of the Coast
The unit consists of workers at the company’s Magic: The Gathering Arena division, including game designers and software engineers.
Childcare center goes union
Management at The Children’s Garden played ‘gotcha’ and placed a union supporter on indefinite administrative leave for a dubious offense.
Union at United Cerebral Palsy Association
The unit includes 41 workers at the non-profit, which supports adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Grand Canyon: Now union
National Park Service workers in eight Western states voted to be represented by National Treasury Employees Union.
Dayton workers unionize
A unit of six city employees in tiny Dayton, population 2,700, joined OPEIU Local 11.
Sequoia mental health workers join union
Defying an anti-union campaign, they voted 2-to-1 to join AFSCME Local 1790.
Dark Horse Comics agrees to recognize union
The announcement came one week after Local 7901 announced that 59 of the company’s 102 workers had signed a union petition.
School bus workers in Lake Oswego unionize
Following a 48-6 vote, 62 workers at Student Transportation of America in Lake Oswego are joining Teamsters Local 206.
IWW campaign at Muji falls short
An effort by the Portland branch of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) to unionize the downtown Portland Muji store failed 14-16.
Dark Horse goes union
Prestige doesn’t pay, say workers at popular comics publisher.
Portland City Council staff unionize
The vote was 17 to join CWA Local 7901, 12 to join AFSCME Local 189, and 4 to remain non-union.
