Puget Sound Labor News Tracker

Pictured is a field of blue with text and a picture. The text is on the left side and reads "Employer: Whitman College; Unit Size: 322 Employees; Filed: March 5, 2026; Location: Walla Walla, Washington; Industry/positions: Education. Staff and faculty." On the bottom there is text that reads "Made by @UnionsElections; @unionelections.bsky.social. Logo property of AFT." On the right side is the logo of AFT.

NEW: 322 staff and faculty at Whitman College in Washington are unionizing with @aft.org

City Council's Legislative Aides Vote to Unionize, Police Chief Says "We Don't Take Sides" in Protests - PubliCola By Erica C. Barnett 1. Legislative assistants for City Councilmembers have voted to unionize, filing a petition for recognition with…

City Council's Legislative Aides Vote to Unionize, Police Chief Says "We Don't Take Sides" in Protests

Today's Afternoon Fizz!

publicola.com/2026/03/06/c...

Child care workers celebrate seat at the table Early educators are lauding Senate passage of legislation establishing the Child Care Workforce Standards Board  OLYMPIA, WA (March 5, 2026) — Some of Washington’s lowest paid workers finally have som...

Childcare workers in Washington won a major victory with the passage of HB 1128, which establishes a Child Care Workforce Standards Board. Workers now have a seat at the table to find solutions to our child care crisis. 💪

READ MORE in the Stand: www.thestand.org/2026/03/chil...

The Spokane Free Speech fight was won on today's date in 1910, as hundreds of union members were freed from jail. The Little Red Songbook - still published today by the IWW in its 38th edition - was a product of an earlier fight in Spokane, and first appeared in 1909.

Mark your calendars to join the Fight this International Workers’ Day: Friday, May 1.

More information and details to come! Follow along on seattlemayday.org

Join The Fight: Seattle May Day 2026, Friday, May 1, 2026, SeattleMayDay.org Sponsored by PugetSoundSage, Seattle Education Association, Our Streets, OneAmerica, OPEIU 8, APRI Seattle, International Migrants Alliance, LCLAA, Latino Community Fund, WSLC, 350 Seattle, People's Organizing Initiative, North Seattle Progressives, Tanggol Migrante Movement, Seattle Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Bayan WA, WFSE Local 1495, Protec 17, MLK Labor, WA YELL, SEIU 6, ILPS, FRSO, and Seattle DSA, plus Working Washington, UFCW 3000, and SBWU, which were accidentally omitted from the previous image.

Whoops! A corrected flyer with a few extra logos has been sent out instead:

Why Workers at Sophon Went on Strike Court documents show that behind the scenes, Sophon and chef Karuna Long struggled financially for years, resulting in bounced paychecks, late payments to vendors, unpaid rent, and lawsuits.

If you've wanted to know what the hell was going on with the recent closures of Sophon and Oliver's Twist, @thestranger.com has it all right here:
www.thestranger.com/news/2026/03...

Join The Fight: Seattle May Day 2026, Friday, May 1, 2026, SeattleMayDay.org Sponsored by PugetSoundSage, Seattle Education Association, Our Streets, OneAmerica, OPEIU 8, APRI Seattle, International Migrants Alliance, LCLAA, Latino Community Fund, WSLC, 350 Seattle, People's Organizing Initiative, North Seattle Progressives, Tanggol Migrante Movement, Seattle Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Bayan WA, WFSE Local 1495, Protec 17, MLK Labor, WA YELL, SEIU 6, ILPS, FRSO, and Seattle DSA

The Seattle May Day 2026 organizing coalition has released their "Save the Date" flyer:

A picture of four lions roaring. In the background are mountains, forest and a lake. Text reads: Labor at Aslan 5:30pm Tuesday March 10 Aslan Brewery 1330 N Forest St Bellingham WA 98225 UFCW 3000.

As Washington State's legislative session rapidly wraps up, join us for the March edition of Labor at Aslan to discuss the bills we're still pushing to improve the lives of working people!

⏰Tonight (Wednesday, March 4). There's still time to sign up! labornotes.org/events/2026/...

Mam's Books - Adrian De Leon Book Talk & Signing with Moon-Ho Jung on Saturday, March 7 at 12pm. Mam's Books is located on 608 Maynard Ave. S in Seattle.

Join us at Mam's Books on Saturday, March 7, at 12 pm to welcome author Adrian De Leon for a reading and discussion of his new book, Balikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland, followed by a conversation with our Bridges Center Chair, Moon-Ho Jung. #mamsbookstore #balikbayan

What happens after you win the union? The ultimate goal is to obtain a union contract or collective bargaining agreement that mandates and protects the workplace improvements you’ve won.

What happens after you win the union?

The ultimate goal is to obtain a union contract or collective bargaining agreement that mandates and protects the workplace improvements you’ve won.

Workers photographed partially in profile as they stand in a line in the rain, with umbrellas out and rain jacket hoods pulled over their heads.

The Letter Carriers Band performs: a group of workers and their family members are seated and playing brass and wind instruments, with sheet music out in front of them on stands.

Workers stand together in USPS rain jackets and hats and warm hoodies. One holds what appears to be a warm beverage in a yellow paper cup, while another next to him holds up a sign that reads, "1st class service, 1st class pay."

Four workers stand in front of a reddish-brown brick wall with partially visible lettering on it that reads United States Post Office, Westwood Station, Seattle, WA 98126. The workers carry signs that say "Fight like Hell."

Letter Carriers rallied outside the Westwood Station Post Office in Seattle, Washington, on Sunday, Feb 22, as part of the NALC's "Fight Like Hell" campaign across the U.S. as bargaining on their next contract kicked off this week. Photos by Nora Stamper of NALC Region 2

Polaris apartment management sent out a notice clarifying that this was SPD not ICE

white text on dark red background along with the Alphabet Workers Union logo in white: "Tech workers are united in our stance that our employers should not be in the business of war."

After learning the Pentagon has demanded that Anthropic abandon all AI safety guardrails in their contract with the U.S. military – and that Anthropic has refused to capitulate to these demands – Alphabet Workers Union released the following statement: www.alphabetworkersunion.org/press/alphab...

Seattle has an Uber problem An excess of ride-hailing drivers in Seattle is driving down wages and increasing pollution and traffic jams, a drivers union says in a new report.

A new report shows that Seattle is flooded with empty rideshare cars, clogging streets, increasing pollution, and bringing down driver pay. Unchecked onboarding by Uber and Lyft is hurting both workers and the city.

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

How We Organized a Union at Whole Foods There were six of us at the first meeting to form a union at Whole Foods in Philadelphia: too many to fit around the coffee shop table, a good sign, so we moved to a restaurant around the corner. We t...

“We didn't have textbook organizing conversations, but we found that one positive statement from a co-worker undid weeks of fearmongering and confusion from the company,” write Ed Dupree and Ben Lovett, who work at a Whole Foods in Philadelphia labornotes.org/2026/02/how-...

Six workers standing in front of a office building with a sign North Helpline in the back ground smile for the picture. Text above reads "North Helpline Workers" Text below reads "Welcome to our union! UFCW 3000"

We're proud to welcome North Helpline workers into our union! These food bank workers spend their days fighting for food justice in North Seattle, making sure every one of our neighbors has a safe space to eat fresh food.

Group of SEIU 925 workers holding signs demanding better treatment and overdue wages for employees outside a brick UW building.

After nearly a month with an expired contract, UW Library, Press, & Continuum College workers with SEIU Local 925 marched on the boss with a 400-signature petition. Workers are rejecting a meager 1% raise offer & seeking better pay & layoff protections.
https://ow.ly/T0h550YmE95

SEIU 925 librarians remain without new contract as bargaining continues SEIU 925 librarians remain without new contract as bargaining continues

Today, UW Librarians with @SEIU925 delivered a petition with over 400 signatures demanding that UW management come to the bargaining table with a fair contract.

The Labor Community stands with these workers for as long as it takes to win this fight!

www.dailyuw.com/article/seiu...

We are hosting a virtual rally this Friday, 2/27 at 12pm ET on Zoom. Join us to hear from our speakers and support the re-instatement of unit members who Kickstarter retaliated against, 3 months after our historic 42-day remote strike won our latest contract bit.ly/ksrurally

https://forms.gle/N3DMCGxhgSnqgmk5A

SEATTLE TECH CAMPUSES: Safer
Together SolidarityNetwork

Kick Off Call: Thur 2/26 5:30 PM

Sign Up - forms.gle/N3DMCGxhgSnq...

Have you seen our toolkit for organizing against ICE at work?

It includes:
🔢 How-to guides for all steps
📢 Sample demands
📃 A sample petition
🚨 Emergency protocols
🪧 Workplace signage
⚖️ Know-your-rights info
🔎 Corporate research
📄 A shareable PDF

Link below 👇

Whoops, while one Machinist's Institute building is in South Seattle, the childcare program is actually in Everett.

A title card for the Labor Notes Podcast episode: How To Debunk Anti-Immigrant Myths. The graphic features a photo of Amazon workers holding up practice picket signs, and cut out photos of pod co-hosts Danielle Smith and Natascha Elena Uhlmann.

With ICE raids targeting more workplaces and daily commutes, workers are trying to talk to each other about immigration in a way that builds solidarity. Hear from IBEW Local 11 member Francisco Arago and IBEW Local 666 steward Chris Anders labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/how-to-tal...

Social media graphic that reads: What does retaliation look like? A union winning big in a historic tech worker strike 3 months later... Multiple union members active in the strike are laid off or forced out of the bargaining unit.

KSRU members are facing retaliation for legally-protected activity after a historic 42 day long strike in October/November of last year.

On February 11, 2026, Kickstarter targeted union members who took an active role in the strike, laying off four people and moving one out of the bargaining unit.

NALC Branch 79 members rallied at Seattle's Westwood Post Office on Sunday as letter carriers nationwide kicked off contract negotiations with USPS.

The Labor Community stands with NALC as they fight like hell for the contract they deserve. ✊💌

Photos by NALC 79/Nora Stamper

An Institute for Training Machinists Takes on the Childcare Shortage A lack of childcare is one big barrier to training more machinists, so a union-backed institute in Washington state decided to train up more childcare workers too.

IAM's Machinist Institute (visible from the Link light rail) is branching out to childcare for Machinist families: workshift.org/an-institute...

First-class pay for first-class service — The STAND Letter carriers are kicking off national contract negotiations with USPS for a collective bargaining agreement that prioritizes an “all-career workforce” WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 23, 2026) — Letter carriers in dozens of cities across the U.S. hit the streets Sunday, rallying for a fair contract. Under the slogan “Fight Like Hell,” United States Postal Service workers […]

As USPS contract talks begin, National Association of Letter Carriers rallied nationwide for higher wages & an “all-career workforce” w/ full pay & benefits from day one. “When one group of workers raises the standard, it lifts the floor for everyone,”-WSLC Pres. April Sims
https://ow.ly/M1kb50Ykrqa

Calling all labor candidates: join Path to Power — The STAND The WSLC's candidate training is designed for union members and labor supporters looking to hone skills as they prepare to run for public office

The WSLC, AFL-CIO is accepting applications for its 2026 Path to Power candidate training, set for April 21–23. Designed for union members & labor supporters preparing to run for public office, the program covers fundraising, messaging, & campaign strategy. Apply by 3/13
https://ow.ly/Zai850Ykrwv