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
Hillsboro clinic the latest to unionize with AFSCME
A recent vote adds 61 workers at Lifeworks NW' Hawthorn Clinic to Oregon AFSCME, part of a wave of union organizing in behavioral health.
Oregon legislative aides become first in nation to unionize
"Local 89. Local 89. No representation. Local 89." One by one, Oregon Employment Relations Board election coordinator Sabrina Dunsworth examined, displayed, and announced the vote, which took place live via Zoom May 28.
Workers at Hillsboro library join AFSCME
BY THE BOOK CAMPAIGN: Unlike for private sector workers covered under federal law, Oregon law makes getting a union for public workers—like those at Hillsboro’s Shute Park library, above—as easy as signing cards.
Longview news reporters go union
Newsroom staff at The Daily News in Longview, Washington voted 6-0 to unionize with the NewsGuild in mail ballots counted May 14.
Medical interpreters unite
Oregon AFSCME will work to win better pay and standards for about 500 medical interpreters—those who translate for Medicaid patients.
Union vote set for Oregon legislative aides
Ballots will be counted May 28 to determine if a group of 180 legislative assistants who work for individual Oregon lawmakers want a union.
Staff at the Oregon Legislature can unionize, Board rules
Plans can now go forward for a union election among roughly 180 legislative assistants who work for individual Oregon lawmakers.
Amazon workers reject union
At the Bessemer "fulfillment center" workers rejected the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union 738 to 1,798.
Lifeworks NW workers file for union election
A group of about 60 workers at a Hillsboro mental health and substance abuse crisis center is ready to join Oregon AFSCME.
Wave of unionization sweeps through Washington newspapers
Five Washington newspapers have unionized recently, the latest in a nationwide surge among print and online journalists under way since 2015.
Springfield nursing home strike ends with mass resignation
After 23 residents died in nine weeks, workers struck for two weeks to demand union recognition. The nursing home's investor owners refused.
Hundreds of unrepresented City of Portland workers get a chance to unionize
City attorneys and HR managers, opposing a union effort by three workers, ended up opening the door to a union for workers across the city.
Oregon Justice Department says legislative workers can’t unionize
Legislative aides don’t have the right to unionize after all, says Oregon's Attorney General in objections on behalf of the Legislature.
OHSU Hillsboro hospital workers unionize
The group of 448 workers voted more than 2-1 to unionize with Oregon AFSCME. The hospital says it will work collaboratively with the union.
Workers unionize at So Delicious Dairy Free
A subsidiary of French multinational Danone voluntarily recognized the Teamsters after a campaign without employer interference.
Oregon legislative staffers unionize with IBEW 89
It's the first union of legislative staff in the country. The 110 employees work for both Democratic and Republican legislators.
A union for Oregon legislative staff?
Oregon legislative aides are seeking to unionize with IBEW Local 89 in what could be the first union of legislative staff in the nation.
OHSU Hillsboro hospital fights union campaign
A group of 472 hospital workers Hillsboro is ready to join Oregon AFSCME. But first they had to get straight who they actually work for.
Musical theater, when it reopens, will be union
Stumptown Stages reclassified actors and musicians as employees, and recognized Musicians Local 99 to represent its musicians.
Lebanon Veterans Home workers stay union
A year after unionizing, with no first union contract signed, some were ready to dump the union, but the majority voted to stay the course.
