Don McIntosh

“Not a dime.” According to Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME Council 28), that’s what negotiators for the state of Washington said is available for state employee wage increases. The two sides are negotiating terms for a set of 2027-2029 union contacts that cover 52,000 employees of state agencies and universities.

The Trump administration can’t continue blocking all wind energy projects. That’s what a federal judge in Oregon ruled Aug. 6.

RIP CITY REALITY Unsold concert tickets are about the only benefit parking lot workers at Moda Center get, only they can’t afford to miss a shift to attend a concert, says Graham Plaxton, above. | Photo by Jason Kaplan

They almost never see their coworkers. But next month, 342 employees of for-profit crisis call center Protocall will vote on whether to unite and be union represented.

Candidates running with endorsements from organized labor in Southwest Washington had mixed success in Washington’s Aug. 4 primary election.

A proposed city ordinance to rename César E Chávez Boulevard is set to have its first reading at Portland City Council Sept. 2. Sponsored by Councilor Loretta Smith, it would direct the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to replace street signs along the seven-mile-long road.

I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN: Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen built Portland a 19,000-seat basketball stadium and concert venue. Completed for $262 million and opened in 1995, it was called the Rose Garden until the Blazers sold naming rights to Moda Health in 2013 for a reported sum of $40 million.

WILL WALK FOR A FAIR RAISE Laborers at the City of Portland struck in 2023 rather than accept a wage offer that trailed inflation. Now the city’s offer is no cost-of-living raise at all. If that offer doesn’t improve, Local 483 members may end up back out on the strike picket line. | Photo by Cheryl Juetten

DRAWN TO THE UNION BY A WILL TO REACH THE TOP IN SKILL: No health coverage. No pension. Substandard wages. But even more than that, no real training or opportunity to develop skills. That’s what Ruben Blancas says he experienced working at a non-union roofing company, where he and his coworkers were largely self-taught. But Blancas heard about Roofers Local 49 from fellow roofers he bumped into over the years. In 2024 Blancas and his coworkers asked their boss for a raise to come closer to the union scale. When he refused, they left the company together and went down to the union hall. “We were just kind of feeling like, ‘Let’s go somewhere where we can do the same kind of work and make a much better wage with more room to grow.’” The union assessed them for their experience level and admitted them to its apprenticeship program. Now Blancas is showing what he’s capable of: first place in the advanced category in the Western region apprenticeship competition. Blancas says he prepared for the competition for weeks, practicing in areas he felt the weakest in. But it’s Local 49’s training program that he credits for the win: “All the teachers have been incredible,” Blancas said. “Leaning into what the teachers have to say was what gave me the edge.” Blancas expects to finish the apprenticeship program in October, at which point he’ll be a journeyman, part of the skilled fellowship at the top of his trade. “The definition of a roofer in union terms is somebody they can drop on any type of roofing system and have them be successful,” Blancas said. | Photos courtesy Roofers Local 49

A new national union for college athletes launched July 31, backed by the national AFL-CIO and leaders of professional sports unions.