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.
Workers Rights
Abruzzo shows what it’s like to enforce a ‘pro-worker statute’
The NLRB hasn’t had this energetic of an enforcer in more than half a century. Jennifer Abruzzo is refocusing the agency on its founding goal.
The software that ate my paycheck
What’s behind the incredible string of payroll ‘errors’ at Fred Meyer, Providence, and the State of Oregon?
Nurses pursue class action after payroll foulup at Eastern Oregon hospitals
Try to claw back money from paychecks without our permission? We’ll see you in court, say members of Oregon Nurses Association.
At Portland airport, sitting for the right to sit
Airport contractor Bags Inc. orders wheelchair attendants to remain standing when not assisting passengers.
US Supreme Court ruling undermines the right to strike
The Supreme Court's Glacier Northwest decision lets some employers sue for damages in strikes where products spoil.
Fired AFSCME supporter wins $20,000 back pay
The National Labor Relations Board determined that camp operator All Good NW fired Michael Rainey illegally.
New Seasons improves conditions … for its nonunion workers
Workers say New Seasons Market has borrowed a tactic from the anti-union playbook: improving conditions at non-union locations.
Washington gives Uber drivers more workers rights
On May 15, Washington became the first state to extend unemployment insurance and paid family and medical leave to Uber and Lyft drivers.
Anheuser-Busch could be delivered nonunion if Maletis Beverage succeeds in busting Teamsters
Owner Rob Maletis withdrew union recognition after a majority of employees signed a petition that they no longer wish to be represented.
PSU Starbucks: Unionize on Friday, strike on Monday
The strike started because managers told a barista to clock off and go home after she showed up to work in a union T-shirt.
Shilling for the antiunion Freedom Foundation? Tulsi, say it isn’t so!
On Oct. 14, Tulsi Gabbard will take the stage in Hillsboro at an event sponsored by the rabidly anti-union Freedom Foundation.
R&H Construction pays $193,000 to settle wage theft case
Strung along by their employer and then Oregon’s labor bureau, workers got paid in February for work they did in 2021.
Labor law violations on the rise nationally, NLRB says
Unfair labor practice charges jumped 16% year over year — continuing a significant caseload increase from the previous fiscal year.
Starbucks coming under pressure
The union-busting coffee giant sees a strike wave, an adverse legal ruling, and its leader hauled before a Senate Committee.
Michigan repeals ‘right-to-work’ and restores prevailing wage
Democratic majorities voted to repeal a “right-to-work” law that GOP legislators passed in 2012, and restore the state prevailing wage law.
360 Sheet Metal must pay $118,000 more for wage theft
The contractor stiffed its workers of $200,000 on multiple Southwest Washington public construction projects.
School custodians want hazard pay for hazard conditions
As skies dumped snow on Portland, administrators were warm in home offices, but night custodians battled blizzard conditions to get to work.
Arbitrator will decide Portland Police policy on body-worn cameras
The Portland police union says officers should get to see bodycam footage before writing reports, as they do at most other police bureaus.
Renamed PRO Act introduced in Congress
Democrats in Congress have signed onto the PRO Act, a bill to make it easier to unionize. Republicans have not.
Workers petition for a prayer room at the Portland airport
The Port of Portland is exploring the possibility of dedicating a temporary space for prayer at the airport in time for Ramadan.