organized labor

Unionization push by PLU faculty could have national implications

Gabriel Spitzer — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:23:33 +0000

Disclosure: Pacific Lutheran University holds the license for KPLU. KPLU’s programming staffers are the university’s only unionized employees.

Pacific Lutheran University is trying to fend off attempts by members of its faculty to unionize, and the outcome could have national implications.

The push is coming from “contingent faculty,” the non-tenure track professors, lecturers and instructors who teach about a third of PLU’s course credits. Those people get paid significantly less than regular faculty, and their employment status is much shakier.

Picket training begins as SPEEA preps for a possible Boeing strike

Ashley Gross — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:29:39 +0000

Contract talks between Boeing and its engineers union are suspended till after the new year. But the union, SPEEA, is not standing still - they're training picket captains for a possible strike.

Boeing engineers inch closer to a strike after 'disappointing' second contract offer

Ashley Gross — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:43:05 +0000

The union representing Boeing engineers is moving closer to a strike authorization. That’s because union leadership is frustrated with the aerospace giant’s second contract offer.

Boeing is now offering higher annual wage increases than its first proposal, which 96 percent of engineers and technicians rejected. But the increases are still lower than the current contract. That’s one reason the union – known as SPEEA – is disappointed.