News City Hall officials bracing for a protest this afternoon by security guards instead received a pleasant surprise: a delivery of flowers. After nearly 10 months of heated negotiations, SEIU Local 49 has reached a tentative agreement over wages and benefits for security officers at private businesses downtown. Sources tell WW that Mayor Charlie Hales' office stepped in to grease a deal for the guards—who ...   More

News The Service Employees International Union Local 49 has endorsed Charlie Hales for mayor, a source near Hales' campaign has told WW.The candidates have largely split the labor endorsements. Hales landed backing from the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Joint Council of Teamsters. his opponent, Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-Portland), has been endorsed by the Portland ...   More

Murmurs A federal grand jury in San Diego last week indicted Yonas Fikre and two others for attempting to conceal the transfer of $75,000 from the United States to the United Arab Emirates in 2010. Fikre is t   More

News [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzXhPtbk9eo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthcareforamericanow%2Eorg%2Fsite%2Fcontent%2Fwhat%5Fif%5Fads&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] A coalition called Health Care For America Now announced today that it is spending $1.1 million to broadcast a health care ad campaign in 10 states over the next 10 days, with the version on our airwaves tailored to ...   More

News The one part of the Oregon economy that's looking healthy these days is the campaign business. While there are only two measures on the ballot, unions and big business are shelling out like it's 1999 again (or some other year when we were not an economic basket case). Common Cause Oregon has thoughtfully provided data on who's giving to both the proponents of Measures 66 and 67, which would ...   More

News The state's largest public employee union, SEIU with its 50,000 workers, issued a non-endorsement in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. That decision over the weekend, coming just after three education-related unions endorsed former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, may be a blessing in disguise for the Democrats' front-runner, former Gov. John Kitzhaber. Here's why: Kitzhaber, who served ...   More

News Following up on our election story this week, we note that Karol Collymore recently hauled in the largest single contribution to date in the fall race to represent North and Northeast Portland on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. Service Employees International Union Local 49 donated $5,000 to Collymore's campaign on Sept. 17. The union represents about 100 janitors who subcontract ...   More