Posts tagged IBEW Local 48
Portland’s Union Electricians Are Moving to Idaho at an Alarming Rate
September 2, 2026 // And it’s not just Boise. Major data center projects are drawing IBEW members—on a temporary and permanent basis—to Reno, Nev., and Kennewick, Wash. Closer to home, geothermal projects near Bend are keeping electricians busy. Union leaders are desperate to stem the exodus of apprentices from Portland. To IBEW, data center construction is one obvious solution. But that viewpoint puts Local 48 at odds with other key members of the Democratic Party’s base.
Labor unions pull support of Portland City Councilor Mitch Green over construction project tensions
July 9, 2026 // "With the Bull Run filtration plant in particular, which kind of started this tension, I raised the alarm that the water bonds we were going to have to issue for that plant are going to set ratepayers on a path that are going to see their water bill double," Green told KGW. The cost of building the filtration plant in east Multnomah County has skyrocketed from $500 million in estimates circa 2017 to $2.56 billion as of earlier this year. Right now, the way the city expects to pay for it is by increasing residential water rates between 8% and 10% each year for five years.
Biden in Portland: ‘Union workers are the best’
May 6, 2022 // After the hangar event, Biden attended a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at the Portland Yacht Club, where he spoke for about 30 minutes before returning to the airport to depart for Seattle.
Portland’s District Council of Trade Unions announces plans to strike
January 27, 2022 // The president of the District Council of Trade Unions announced Thursday the labor coalition, which represents roughly 16% of the Portland city workforce, will soon go on strike over wages.