Bigfoot Beverages Teamsters in Oregon are nearing 100 days on strike to protect their pensions. Teamsters say Bigfoot Beverages plans to remove healthcare benefits for striking workers. Credit: Courtesy photo by M5n5d Photography
In December, Oregon saw a continued slump in movement around the winter holidays, with eight fewer election wins, the same number of campaigns, and five fewer labor actions than in November. Compared to December 2023, Oregon also saw a lag in the year-to-year monthly forecast, with an overall decline in labor movement by nearly 64%.
"Last month in Oregon labor" is a monthly installment by Aurora Biggers covering all things Oregon labor.
Numbers aside, the state saw noteworthy organizing and negotiating across industry sectors.
Street Roots staff announced their intent to unionize and will hold an election in the new year despite resistance from the social justice-oriented nonprofit’s board of directors. Health care workers continue to make moves from Portland to Monmouth. Bigfoot Beverages Teamsters are approaching 100 days on strike, while Providence nurses and physicians are preparing for a historic strike of their own.
Oregon’s labor movement is more than data, and with new unions and worker actions ramping up across the state, workers are steeled for another year of landscape-shaping fights and victories.
New campaigns and elections
Street Roots workers announced on Dec. 2 their intent to unionize with Communications Workers of America Local 7901, forming the Street Roots Workers Guild. Before filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board, or the NLRB, workers submitted a letter to the Street Roots board of directors requesting voluntary recognition.
The board notified the NLRB on Dec. 9 that it would not voluntarily recognize the Street Roots Workers Guild, citing disagreement over the outlined unit and a desire to exclude at least two workers from union eligibility, according to the guild.
Further, the guild alleged that the board violated federal labor law by not posting notice of the upcoming election within the legally required time frame.
“As an organization that touts its efforts of social justice and equity, we see this as a failure of the board to carry out its mission,” the guild said in a social media post.
Less than a month after filing for an election, drivers for Recology Oregon Recovery at the Northwest 61st Avenue location in Portland voted 4-0 on Dec. 4 to join the Teamsters Local 305.
Specialized physicians at Legacy Clinics at all Portland facilities filed on Dec. 5 to join the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association.
After filing in November, workers at Organic Consultants in Eugene voted 21-15 on Dec. 9 against joining the United Chemists & Manufacturer Workers Union.
On Dec. 12, workers at Heron Pointe Senior Living in Monmouth filed to join the Service Employees International Union Local 503.
Labor actions
Oregon Bigfoot Beverages Teamster workers have nearly reached 100 days on strike, with their health care benefits set to expire on Jan. 1. Workers are remaining stalwart in demanding the company maintain their pension plans rather than forcing a switch to a 401(k).
“Unfortunately for Bigfoot, the Teamsters don’t give up — whether it’s Christmas, New Year’s, or any other day on the calendar,” Mark Davison, Teamsters Western Region International vice president and Teamsters Joint Council 37 president, said in a press release.
A boycott for Bigfoot Beverages products remains in place, including Pepsi brands, Buoy Beer, Pelican Brewing Company, Ninkasi Brewing, King Estate Oregon wines and Willamette Valley Vineyard wines.
After hitting the strike line on Nov. 12, the Coalition of Graduate Employees Local 6069 at Oregon State University, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, ratified a new contract and concluded the strike on Dec. 10. The new three-year contract includes a 13% raise, bringing the base pay for graduate employees up to $1,991 per month, and merit increases of 2.75-3% per year.
Oregon American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, members at the City of Portland held a picket on Dec. 14 amid dragging contract negotiations. Oregon AFSCME and the city reached an impasse last month, with the primary divide being wages. In a newsletter, Portland Jobs With Justice pointed out that the City of Portland recently approved $1.8 million to restore the iconic Elk Statue, “but can’t pay their workers a living wage.”
Starbucks baristas across the Portland-Metro area held unfair labor practice strikes on Dec. 23, with strike lines at the Valley Plaza, Stucki, Hillsboro, Burnside and Oregon Trail locations.
On Dec. 30, the Oregon Nurses Association, or ONA, announced a 10-day strike notice for physicians, nurses, physician associates and nurse midwives at Providence locations across Oregon. Should the health care company fail to reach a contract agreement with the 5,000 workers, ONA said they would commence an indefinite strike at the Portland, Seaside, St. Vincent, Providence Women’s Clinic, Milwaukie, Willamette Falls, Medford, Newberg and Hood River locations. According to the union, this would be the first physician strike in the state’s history.
Negotiations
Albany teachers went on strike in mid-November but reached a contract agreement on Dec. 2, ending the work stoppage. In addition to a minimum 14.5% wage increase over three years, the contract places a hard cap on class sizes and guarantees prep time and restroom breaks, among other wins.
In a newsletter, the Portland State University American Association of University Professors, or PSU-AAUP, said bargaining remains ongoing with the university, as the administration is poised to lay off 17 workers in the new year. The union asserts that the university refuses to bargain over layoff language, as it needs to retain “flexibility.”
“With over 210 million in reserves and over 150 million in the PSU foundation, these layoffs, per economist Howard Bunsis, were unnecessary,” the union said.
PSU-AAUP had Bunsis, a professor of accounting at Eastern Michigan University and former AAUP bargaining chairperson, release an evaluation of PSU’s finances. The evaluation found that the university has no need to withhold wage increases from staff or make staffing cuts.
The union said workers may “be forced to go on strike to win the conditions our students, colleagues and families deserve,” depending on how mediation goes in January.
The earliest the union would strike is March 9, according to the newsletter.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly investigative publication covering economic, environmental and social inequity. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
