union
Hundreds of fruit packers in Washington and Oregon take union vote this week
More than 350 apple, pear and cherry packers at three facilities in Washington and Oregon will decide this week whether to unionize. It’s among the first and largest unionization efforts among fruit packers in the region in years, according to Kristina Storm, director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000, the union that employees […]
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 […]
Camas teachers vote to end strike
About 450 teachers on strike in the Vancouver area will soon return to classrooms after voting to approve a tentative agreement with Camas School District. As part of the deal, the district agreed to increase teacher wages by 13% over the next two years, reduce class sizes and establish a resource fund for libraries, physical […]
Union sues to stop state purchase of psychiatric hospital until labor dispute is resolved
The union representing over 200 former employees of a behavioral health hospital Washington plans to buy for nearly $30 million has filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the sale until an arbitrator can determine whether the deal abides by the union’s contract. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW sued Cascade Behavioral Health on Aug. 24, alleging […]
Classes delayed for 30,000 students as more teachers strike in southwest Washington
Special education teacher Angie Latange is one of 1,500 educators at Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver on strike Wednesday. It’s not her first time on strike: Evergreen educators also picketed in 2018. But this strike, Latange said, feels different. “The energy is higher,” Latange said. “Last time, it was more…salary-based. This time, it’s absolutely not […]
Teachers strike in southwest Washington delays school year for thousands of students
The start of the school year was delayed on Monday for about 7,000 students in Camas, Washington after 450 teachers in the district went on strike. This is the first time the teachers’ union has ever gone on strike in the district, which is located along the Columbia River, just east of Vancouver, Washington. The […]
Vote by Fred Meyer workers to organize marks big win for Washington union
The last non-union Fred Meyer employees within a six-county area of western Washington voted to organize by an overwhelming margin, 39-12, on Thursday. “Walking into that store [right now] is like walking into a wall of union support,” said Colton Rose, a union organizer, ahead of the vote in a text message. “I’d hate to […]
Upcoming Fred Meyer union vote marks culmination of recent organizing push
The merchandise department at a Fred Meyer store in Lacey is the last non-union holdout among the major retail chain’s stores in a six-county swath of western Washington — but that may change after workers there hold a union election on Thursday. If the effort succeeds, employees in the store’s general merchandise wing will join […]