labor unions Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington State Labor Council wants better standards for child care industry, paid vacation leave for all

By Lauren Gallup January 14, 2025

The Washington Capitol building in Olympia with flowers in front.

For workers in Washington state, there are a number of bills being brought forward this legislative session that labor leaders hope will make working life better in the state. The Washington State Labor Council has introduced its legislative agenda for 2025, which focuses on improving child labor laws, bargaining over artificial intelligence in public sector jobs and Read More

Lawmakers aim to pass bill so striking workers can access unemployment benefits

By Lauren Gallup January 9, 2025

A Boeing worker waves a picket sign. The sign reads, "on strike against Boeing." There is blue sky in the background.

When workers go on strike in Washington state, they don’t earn a dime. A new piece of legislation could change that. This bill would allow workers to eventually access unemployment benefits, starting the second Sunday after they began withholding their labor. Workers could claim up to four weeks of benefits through the state’s unemployment insurance, according to Read More

More Boeing layoffs impact Washington workers

By Lauren Gallup December 19, 2024

Grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes fill a parking area adjacent to Boeing Field Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Aerospace company Boeing has announced another round of layoffs, this one impacting 396 workers in Washington state. About half of the Boeing employees in Washington laid off in this round of cuts are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for SPEEA, said in recent months, his union has seen over 3% of Read More

Nursing union at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma reaches tentative agreement

By Lauren Gallup December 18, 2024

Nurses hold signs that include messages like "safe staffing = patient safety." They are walking on a sidewalk outside on a cloudy day.

Nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new collective bargaining agreement with higher wages, improved safety measures in the hospital and some staffing mandates. The bargaining team for the nurses reached a tentative agreement with the hospital after months of bargaining. This week, all employees at the hospital represented by the Washington Read More

Nurses at St. Joseph in Tacoma seek staffing, safety changes

By Lauren Gallup November 4, 2024

Nurses picket outside St. Joseph Medical Center on Nov. 1 as they push for a contract that addresses their safety and staffing concerns. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

After their contract ended on Halloween, nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center spent a rainy Friday morning picketing outside the hospital. The nurses’ union, Washington State Nurses Association or WSNA, has been negotiating with hospital management since August. But Pamela Chandran, director of legal affairs for the union, said there are sticking points. Read More

Community organizers and labor leaders announce plans for workers’ rights initiative

By Lauren Gallup August 1, 2024

Ann Dorn, who serves on the steering committee of Tacoma for All, poses at the workers' rights event with the tattoo she got after the group's initiative for a tenant bill of rights passed in 2023. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

Tacoma For All and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 announced plans to bring an initiative to Pierce and Thurston county voters next year. The groups are calling the initiative a workers’ bill of rights. Read More

WSU’S Coalition of Academic Student Employees ratifies its first contract

By Lauren Gallup January 29, 2024

Members of the WSU Coalition of Academic Student Employees rally in May 2022 on WSU's Pullman campus. (Credit: WSU-CASE/UAW)

At academic institutions nationwide, student workers continue to organize, and this week, those at Washington State University got a big win. The Coalition of Academic Student Employees has ratified its first union contract. With the agreement, student employees will get paid vacation for the first time, as well as earn six weeks of paid parental leave. Read More

Workers at Tacoma Art Museum vote unanimously to unionize

By Lauren Gallup November 17, 2023

Members of TAMWU celebrating after the announcement that workers unanimously voted for unionizing. (Credit: Gillian Fulford, AFSCME Council 28 / WFSE)

To unionize, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United [TAMWU] needed the majority of its 26 workers to vote yes. After two days of voting in an election overseen by the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission, the unanimous results came in Thursday evening — 26 in favor of unionizing. Read More

WSU Academic Student Employees’ union files complaint against the university alleging unfair labor practice

By Lauren Gallup September 22, 2023

The Academic Student Employees (ASE) union at Washington State University has filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against the university, alleging WSU’s unwillingness to bargain with the collective in good faith. Read More

What will happen to employees at WestRock Paper Mill when it closes?

By Lauren Gallup September 5, 2023

About 400 workers were laid off from the WestRock Paper Mill in Tacoma last year. Now, the company's Seattle packaging plant is slated to close in March. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

With the impending closure of the WestRock Paper Mill in Tacoma, about 400 workers could be displaced. “It's really significant,” said Chelsea Mason-Placek, who is the workforce development director for the Washington State Labor Council. “This is a much larger layoff than we typically see.”Read More

Tacoma museum board indicates support of union, but not like organizers hoped

By Lauren Gallup June 28, 2023

Employees organizing as the Tacoma Art Museum Workers United union rallied with supporters March 23, 2023. // Credit: Lauren Gallup NWPB

The Tacoma Art Museum board of directors has indicated they will voluntarily recognize museum employees who have been organizing for the Tacoma Art Museum Workers United (TAMWU) union, through a privately arbitrated election. TAMWU organizers said they don’t support the conditions of that recognition, though.Read More

For more than 2 months, Kroger workers across Western Washington haven’t received proper wages

By Lauren Gallup December 16, 2022

On December 16, grocery store workers and their union representatives passed out leaflets on the problems they've had with their pay in recent months. Photo by Lauren Gallup.

Grocery store workers employed by Kroger brands QFC and Fred Meyer said they have experienced problems with their paychecks, including flat out not receiving them, since October. Angela Reetz is a cashier and customer service representative at Fred Meyer in Tumwater. This autumn, she said she was not paid for four weeks. Read More