unions

A discussion with host Phineas Pope and NWPB reporter Lauren Gallup about Washington state's budget deficit.

Nurses at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston have voted to ratify a new union contract, the hospital announced this month.

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.

Four utilities in Washington state received funding from the U.S Department of Energy to strengthen the electrical grid against future wildfires and ensure reliability to customers. That funding comes from the federal Grid Resilience and Innovations Partnerships Program, which is investing in 58 projects across 44 states.

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.”

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.

Yakima Valley College faculty union members voted no confidence in college president Linda Kaminski. Union leaders say the administration has become unaccountable and is not addressing their complaints. But, college representatives say meetings with faculty have taken place, and they are working to answer their questions.

The Tacoma Art Museum Workers United committee is still in limbo after a special meeting March 31 with the museum’s board of trustees. The board did not announce a decision on whether to recognize the workers’ union.

NWPB's Johanna Bejarano reports on a settlement between Washington Bulb and their striking workers / Runtime - 2:31Tulip workers came to an agreement with…

NWPB's Johanna Bejarano reports on new negotiations that led to the suspension of a strike by tulip workers / Runtime - 1:48Tulip workers at Mount Vernon,…