NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
groups engaged in racketeering getting two
anti-union measures on the 2000 ballot, and
judge orders Sizemore to pay $2.52 million
damages to two teachers’ unions. Employer
lockout of 10,500 longshore workers closes
West Coast ports for 12 days. Union pension
funds invest in South Waterfront project. Al-
bany Steelworkers ratify contract at Wah
Chang, ending 7-month lockout. Consoli-
dated Freightways files for bankruptcy, laying
off 15,500 union workers. AFL-CIO’s Union
Summer turns focus to recruiting young peo-
ple. 2003: Iraq War begins. Oregon Alliance
for Retired Americans holds founding con-
vention. Union workers installing 14-foot di-
ameter sewer “Big Pipe” under the streets of
Portland. United Auto Workers ends 11-
month strike at Williams Controls. AFL-CIO
launches Working America group. 2004: After
defeating John Kerry by 3% in the general
election, President Bush says he will push for
privatization of Social Security. SEIU strikes
Parry Center. Building trades call for boycott
of new Vancouver Convention Center. Con-
gress okays free trade deals with Australia
and Morocco. 2005: Six unions leave the
AFL-CIO and form the Change to Win labor
federation. Congress ratifies the Central
America Free Trade Agreement. 18,400 Boe-
ing Machinists win improvements after a 28-
day strike. AFL-CIO and Change to Win an-
nounce deal to preserve local labor unity with
Solidarity Charters. Tim Nesbitt resigns as
president of Oregon AFL-CIO; Tom Cham-
berlain succeeds him. 2006: Custodians re-
turn to Portland Public Schools after Oregon
Supreme Court rules the district’s privatiza-
tion was illegal. National Labor Relations
Board opens the door for employers to clas-
sify millions of workers as supervisors.
Union-backed Working Families Party wins
official ballot status in Oregon. Laborers leave
AFL-CIO. Tim Nesbitt appointed deputy chief
of staff by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. 2007: After
announcing it will build a second truck plant
in Mexico, Daimler halts production of
Freightliner brand trucks at its Portland plant;
The union-built Portland Aerial Tram
at OHSU is completed in December
2006, one of only two commuter aer-
ial tramways in the United States. The
tram carries commuters between the
city's South Waterfront district and
the main Oregon Health & Science
University campus in the Marquam
Hill neighborhood.
week-long strike by Machinists ends in a new
agreement with some improvements. 1,300
Northwest drywall hangers win pay raises af-
ter two-week strike. Craft unions welcome
Iraq war veterans into training programs.
Fired Portland school custodians win $14.5
million in back pay. 2008: Stock markets
around the world plunge amid growing fears
of a U.S. recession. West Coast ports shut
down on May Day as Longshore Union
protests Iraq war. Bill Sizemore jailed for a
day after being found in contempt of court.
Unions call for new I-5 replacement bridge
over Columbia River. Machinists strike Boe-
ing for 56 days. 2009: Barack Obama inau-
gurated as first Black President of the United
States. Carhartt discontinues ‘Made in USA’
apparel program. 2010: Oregon voters ap-
prove union-backed Ballot Measures 66 and
67 raising taxes on corporations and high-in-
come taxpayers. Oregon Legislature passes
new laws banning employers from using
credit checks in hiring, and granting union
rights to a new group of in-home care givers.
Congress passes historic health insurance
reform known as Obamacare, or ACA. Intel
announces it will spend close to $4 billion in
new facilities in Hillsboro. Oregon labor helps
elect John Kitzhaber governor, but House of
Representatives is evenly split for the first
time in history, with 30 Republicans and 30
Democrats. Former AFL-CIO president Tim
Nesbitt named governor’s chief of staff.
Washington voters agree with unions in re-
August 21, 2020 | PAGE 31
27,000 Machinists at Boeing plants in Oregon, Washington, and Kansas go
on strike Sept, 6, 2008. In the photo left, then candidate for U.S. Senate Jeff
Merkley address pickets at the plant in Gresham. The strike ended Nov. 1
with a new 4-year contract.
In June 2009, union workers from Oregon Iron Works unveil the first U.S.-
made streetcar since 1951. The streetcar runs in downtown Portland.
In 2009, Elizabeth “Liz” Shuler, a member
of Portland-based IBEW Local 125, be-
comes the first woman and youngest (39)
ever elected Secretary-Treasurer of the
national AFL-CIO.
Wishing all Union members,
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and safe Labor Day
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