labor unions
Washington lawmakers begin to drop bills ahead of upcoming session
Providing striking workers with unemployment checks. Protecting unspent gift card balances for consumers. Keeping the old name for a new state building. These are among the matters Washington lawmakers are teeing up for debate in the 2024 session. Legislators on Monday could begin pre-filing bills for introduction on the session’s first day, Jan. 8. To […]
Oregon and Washington fruit packers vote to unionize fails
This article was first published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle. One of the first and largest attempts to unionize fruit packers in the region in recent years has failed. A total of 328 employees of Washington-based Mount Adams Fruit voted Monday and Tuesday on unionizing with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000. About […]
Oregon lawmakers say they met Portland school demands for money as teachers strike
State Democratic leaders say they’ve given educators, including Portland Public Schools, the money they asked for and that it will be up to the administration and unions to figure out how to use the money to meet demands of striking Portland teachers. At a news conference on the fourth day of the Portland Public Schools’ […]
Oregon officials urge Portland Public Schools, educators to reach a deal to end strike
This article was first published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle. With Portland Public Schools teachers striking for the first time in history, Oregon’s top elected officials urged the union and district leaders to bargain in good faith. The strike started on Wednesday, with about 3,500 teachers joining the work stoppage in the state’s largest school […]
Kaiser Permanente and Washington workers reach deal to avoid strike
Kaiser Permanente and thousands of its Washington workers have agreed on a tentative labor contract, averting a strike planned for Wednesday had no deal been reached. Absent an agreement, about 3,000 employees at 36 locations, including nurses, social workers and medical assistants, were prepared to walk out from Nov. 1 to 8. Instead, starting Wednesday, […]
Here’s how collective bargaining for Washington legislative staffers could go
Employees of the state Legislature will be able to unionize next May but not every one of them should be allowed to do so. That’s according to recommendations in a new report from the leader of the Office of State Legislative Labor Relations. Only partisan staff in the House and Senate should be permitted to […]
Thousands of WA Kaiser Permanente workers move toward strike despite national deal
Kaiser Permanente workers in Washington voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if they do not reach a new contract with the health care provider by Oct. 31, the union representing the employees announced on Friday. If the strike happens, about 3,000 Kaiser Permanente workers at 36 locations will walk out from Nov. 1 to 8, […]
UAW head says GM has committed to a ‘just transition’ for engine workers
This article was first published by Michigan Advance. Three weeks into the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, UAW President Shawn Fain announced a “transformative win,” on a Friday livestream, with General Motors agreeing to place their battery manufacturers under their master agreement with the union. Before going on the livestream on social media — which […]
As union lawsuit falters, state readies Tukwila psychiatric hospital for patients
The state is planning to admit patients before the end of the month at a recently acquired psychiatric hospital in Tukwila, in spite of a union lawsuit seeking to stall the facility’s sale. Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services is aiming to accept about 50 patients before the end of October, agency spokesman Tyler […]
Biden makes historic visit to metro Detroit picket line to rally with striking auto workers
In the midst of ongoing negotiations between striking auto workers and Detroit’s Big Three manufacturers, President Joe Biden on Tuesday made an appearance on the picket line in Belleville. Speaking to picketers from UAW Local 174 at Willow Run Redistribution Center in metro Detroit, Biden said that unions “saved the automobile industry” in times of […]
Workers sue WA Department of Corrections over Larch closure
The union representing state correctional employees is asking a court to halt the closure of Larch Corrections Center in southwest Washington, claiming the Department of Corrections violated a number of labor practices ahead of its decision to shutter the facility. Teamsters Local 117 filed its complaint Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court, alleging Corrections refused […]
Teachers end strike at Vancouver’s Evergreen Public Schools
Around 23,000 public school students in the Vancouver area are heading back to classrooms on Monday after their teachers voted to ratify a new labor contract. Teachers at Evergreen Public Schools went on strike Aug. 30, the first day of scheduled classes for the school year, and were on strike for seven school days. Classes […]