Tag Archives: union organizing

St Jo’s NURSES picket is ON!Tuesday April 22

Nurses at Bellingham’s St.Joseph Hospital rejected management’s “last, best, and final” offer yesterday. It was “pretty insulting” a nurse reported. See the 4/17 post on this website See you on the picket line!

Nurses plan picket at St. Jo’s on April 29

Excerpted from Cascadia Daily News 4-17-2025 [edited for brevity and with comments by IWW]: Nurses plan to picket outside PeaceHealth St. Joseph’sr on Tuesday, April 29, one month after rejecting a proposed contract (follow that link for more on the story- IWW). The picket is on if the hospital and union do not come toContinue reading “Nurses plan picket at St. Jo’s on April 29”

IWW strike continues in Bay Area

After two years of bad-faith bargaining by bosses, the IWW-organized workers at Berkeley retail salvager Urban Ore began a strike last week. The workers began solidarity union organizing in 2021, and in 2023 voted to join IWW for greater support and organizational structure. Wages are the principal issue. Urban Ore is somewhat similar to Bellingham’sContinue reading “IWW strike continues in Bay Area”

IWW organizes in Cyprus

As promised a couple days ago- IWW members in Cyprus have been organizing lately. Visit their website. Go there to read about a strike in an IWW-organized digital media company, Optilink, and contribute to their strike fund. Our Cypriot Fellow Workers are a Regional Organizing Committee within WISERA- the Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England RegionalContinue reading “IWW organizes in Cyprus”

IWW MOVIE NIGHT WEDNESDAY!

The best solidarity movie ever! We all could use a positive jolt these days, this is it! First film in our movie night series. Third Wednesday of Feb, March, April, May. Review? “I hate this move”- anti-union homophobe; “Best movie ever!” Everyone else.

No NLRB? No Problem

by x364181 This article appeared in the February 7, 2025 issue of IWW’s Industrial Worker, our union’s official online news and opinion site. Subscribe for free here. art by x364181. Last week Trump fired two members of the National Labor Relations Board, leaving the body without quorum and the ability to process cases. Many unionsContinue reading “No NLRB? No Problem”

PEETS COFFEE TRIES TO BUST IWW UNION

Baristas in the Peet’s Coffee chain have been organizing into IWW’s Peet’s Labor Union for several years. In 2023, workers at three Peet’s stores in Berkeley and Oakland decided to organize with the IWW. In 2024, workers at the 4th Street store in Berkeley and at the NE Broadway store in Portland joined the IWW.Continue reading “PEETS COFFEE TRIES TO BUST IWW UNION”

UNION PICKET AT BELLINGHAM REI November 16

INFORMATIONAL PICKET AT BELLINGHAM’S REI Saturday, November 16th, from 1-4 REI’s union members will  leaflet customers to keep them informed on corporate delays at the bargaining table . ALL ARE INVITED! Drop by anytime between 1 pm and 4 pm to show your support for the workers! Wear your union pin and colors (shirts, hoodies,Continue reading “UNION PICKET AT BELLINGHAM REI November 16”

Two Union Films at Pickford Film Center, Bellingham

Union, and The Day Iceland Stood Still. Union is about organizing at Amazon warehouses and the malicious response of the company we all love to hate. It will be shown at the Pickford on Friday October 25 at 5:35. Whatcom-Skagit IWW will have a literature table in the lobby prior to the film, so comeContinue reading “Two Union Films at Pickford Film Center, Bellingham”

Picket line at Mount Baker Roofing in Bellingham- an update

Around 20 roofers at Mount baker Roofing company called a work stoppage this morning. The picket line was at the company’s offices but the workers were from the MB Roofing shop in Skagit county. Yesterday, a group of workers presented a demand to the Skagit manager to follow state health and safety rules, and toContinue reading “Picket line at Mount Baker Roofing in Bellingham- an update”

The IWW Today- a presentation at Village Books Feb 15, 7PM

An IWW member from Bellingham presents ‘The IWW Today’ at Village Books. Register in advance to reserve a seat [its free]: https://www.whatcomreads.org/event/the-iww-today/ This talk will explain how the IWW works in North America and elsewhere today, with examples of some of our union campaigns. We’ll have a literature table.  

Starbucks Workers United Strike in Bellingham

Shuts down three stores all weekend Union workers at Bellingham Starbucks stores at Sehome Village, Cordata, and Iowa & King struck all weekend, and kept the three stores closed. Pickets from other organizations, including IWW of course, showed up to add to the picket line. Starbucks corporate made no effort to open the stores. TheContinue reading “Starbucks Workers United Strike in Bellingham”

WWU STUDENT WORKERS FORM A UNION

Students employed by Western Washington University have formed a new union, unionized as Western Academic Workers United, affiliated with the United Auto Workers. A large majority of graduate and undergraduate student employees who do research or instructional work filed for union recognition on December 2 with the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission. The Union hopesContinue reading “WWU STUDENT WORKERS FORM A UNION”

Know Your Rights: Washington Equal Pay and Opportunites Act

[This article is copied from the Seattle IWW web site.] The “Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act” went into effect on July 28, 2019. It states that when interviewing for a job: Your potential future boss can’t ask you how much money you make (or even how much you have made in the past) untilContinue reading “Know Your Rights: Washington Equal Pay and Opportunites Act”

UPDATING THE BELLINGHAM IWW WEBSITE

Friends and fellow workers, The Whatcom-Skagit IWW branch is finally beginning to update our website at bellinghamiww.org. Many links lead to an outdated IWW website so we are fixing those. We will get back to regular blog posts. To learn more about the IWW in Northwest Washington write to us this cleverly disguised address bellinghamContinue reading “UPDATING THE BELLINGHAM IWW WEBSITE”

Teamsters in Bellingham vote to strike

If the workers at Bellingham Cold Storage do strike, IWW encourages you to show up and walk the picket line with them in Solidarity. The following was posted on “The Stand” https://www.thestand.org/?p=99324 with information from Teamsters Local 231: BELLINGHAM (June 15, 2021) — Teamsters Local 231 members at Bellingham Cold Storage (BCS) have voted unanimouslyContinue reading “Teamsters in Bellingham vote to strike”

Union loses at Amazon- one postmortem

There will surely be many analyses of why the Retail, Warehouse, and Distribution Workers Union [RWDSU] lost the union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer Alabama. Here is one very insightful analysis of why RWDSU lost the union campaign in Bessemer. The mistakes made by this union are astonishing; things we learn on dayContinue reading “Union loses at Amazon- one postmortem”

Intro to the Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW )

Thursday January 5th. 7-8:30 PM. Public Market meeting room [behind Film is Truth counter] 1530 Cornwall, Bellingham Learn what about the Industrial Workers of the World [IWW; ‘Wobblies’]. We will have updates on IWW around the world. All workers in all types of work are invited to this presentation. Our union seeks to help workersContinue reading “Intro to the Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW )”