Workers Rights

Judge strikes down NLRB’s landmark ‘joint employer’ rule

The National Labor Relations Board was all set to stop companies from dodging labor law by using temp agencies and franchise structures.

Child labor violations at Vancouver trampoline park

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) found that 40 teenage workers at Sky Zone worked more hours than legally allowed.

BOLI head: Oregon labor law enforcement needs fix

Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson took charge of an agency with chronic underfunding and heavy case backlogs.

NLRB: No more dodging labor law with temp agencies and franchise structures

Workers will soon bargain with all companies that have a say in their working conditions — not just the one whose name is on their paycheck.

Tip theft at Pizzicato and McMenamins

A Portland-area chain agreed to pay $540,000 to 367 employees after U.S. DOL found managers were unlawfully sharing tips given to workers.

Starbucks store closures were illegal

The company started closing stores, citing crime. Sound suspicious? The NLRB says it was a response to the union.

Jacked Co: Unfair. And quite likely unsafe.

Picketing outside a construction work site Dec. 11, Local 701 staff saw first-hand that a non-union crane operator treats workers poorly.

Arrest warrant issued for contractor who failed to pay for benefits

A federal lawsuit has a lesson for contractors: Skip paying workers’ fringe benefits, and a U.S. marshal might show up at your door.

Judge orders Starbucks to rehire fired baristas

Heather Clark and Gail Kleeman are among dozens of union supporters that Starbucks has fired illegally across the country.

Bill would give strikers in Washington the right to unemployment benefits

Senate Bill 5777, filed Dec. 4, is sponsored by Washington State Senator Karen Keiser of Des Moines and has 15 cosponsors.

Nationwide Starbucks strike protests rampant unfair labor practices

The one-day strike, to protest a staggering number of unfair labor practices, included stores in Beaverton, Portland, and Vancouver.

Washington apprentices get help with child care

A Washington state subsidy program drops the monthly cost of child care to $0 to $215, depending on a family’s income. 

Shipyard workers in an uproar over paint damage to cars

An improperly contained cruise ship paint job resulted in paint particles floating almost a half-mile to the employee parking lot.

Washington sick leave for construction workers too

Washington is updating its mandatory paid sick leave program to cover construction workers who have historically missed out on the benefit.

Work at Kaiser? Better check your paycheck

After more than two years of problems as egregious as a $99,000 overpayment or zeroed out paid leave banks, OFNHP is speaking out.

Minimum wages rising in Washington and Oregon

Oregon’s minimum wage rose to $15.45 in the Portland metro area on July 1. Washington's will rise to $16.28 an hour on Jan. 1.

Washington Court tests new law in Freedom Foundation case

Washington Federation of State Employee advocated for the measure amid a multi-year legal battle against the anti-union Freedom Foundation.

Lawful contractors only, says City of Vancouver

Contractors who bid on public projects with the City of Vancouver now must verify that their subcontractors are not labor law violators.

Starbucks refusing to bargain with union

Nearly two years after the first Starbucks store unionized, not one Starbucks location has a first union contract.

We’re number 38!

The British anti-poverty group Oxfam recently ranked 38 developed nations on worker well-being. The United States was at or near the bottom.