Don McIntosh

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.

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.

The Executive Board of the Oregon Labor Federation, AFL-CIO passed a resolution in support of high-road standards for data center development in Oregon at its quarterly meeting on Aug. 13. The federation represents nearly 300 local unions with members working in every sector of Oregon’s economy.

Workers at the North Williams Avenue location of PDX Sliders voted 15-1 on Aug. 19 to certify their own independent union. Known as PDX Sliders Union Williams, the union is associated with the Portland-based Coalition of Independent Unions. The newly unionized bargaining unit includes all 19 hourly employees.

LABOR DAY SCRAMBLE: Kids search for quarters fiendishly strewn in straw at a 2022 Labor Day picnic in Kalama. Sponsored by Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor Council and Southwest Washington Central Labor Council, the family-friendly event takes place each year at Haydu Park. | Photo by Don McIntosh

UNITY OF PURPOSE: Derbies, wing collars, and cutaway coats adorned with union badges were the uniform for tailors union members marching in Portland’s 1902 Labor Day parade. | Photo courtesy Oregon Historical Society

Citing financial hardship, Oregon’s thinly supported public universities are laying off professors, terminating academic departments, and telling union-represented support staff that there’s no money for raises.

As Metro exits management of the Schnitzer and Keller venues, the “City that Works” doesn’t want the work either.