NSLU may be part of a new tide in the labor movement — a network of solidarity between independent unions questioning the need for institutional unions
Why form an independent union instead of benefiting from the resources and support of a larger established union?
“Because the reality is we know our own working conditions best,” Ava Robins, a prepared foods clerk and union organizer at the Concordia New Seasons Market, said.
Robins and her co-workers punch the clock at just one of three Portland-area New Seasons Markets awaiting a union vote. Workers at the Seven Corners and Slabtown stores already voted in favor of unionizing this year, while workers at the Sellwood location voted against unionizing in September.
Workers at the Seven Corners New Seasons formally petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a labor election May 27, primarily citing changes in attendance and scheduling policies disrupting employees' long-term schedules and forcing employees to use paid time off for sick leave.
Unlike its sister store, the Orenco Station New Seasons — which filed on the same day through the United Food and Commercial Workers union, or UFCW — workers at the Seven Corners location were inspired by a recent trend in the labor movement. They decided to form a worker-led, independent union.
Mary Ellen McMahon, a clerk and organizer at the Seven Corners location, said the independent Starbucks Workers United union, which successfully unionized 260 locations, inspired Seven Corners workers.
“We thought, ‘We can do that. We can get store by store. It's hard to organize a whole thing, but we can probably do that,’” McMahon said.
The trend is controversial in labor circles, given the historical prominence of institutional unions like UFCW and the perceived disadvantage organizers have without the resources, dedicated staff and financial backing of an established union. With independent unions on the rise in Oregon — Doughnut Workers United, Burgerville Workers Union and now New Seasons Labor Union — workers across the United States may take note of their success.
These independent unions have defied doubts that organizers can succeed without institutional backing. The key to their success, according to New Seasons workers: working together.
Building solidarity
Joining an independent union was important because the organizing builds solidarity, and the union’s commitment is guaranteed, according to Robins.
“How do I know that the union actually has my best interests at heart?” Robins asked in reference to working with larger unions. “It makes it so much easier to be able to say ‘I have your best interests at heart because we are co-workers … we are in the same boat. I care about this union because I work the same job as you do. I'm not being paid to do anything on your behalf.’
“You know, we're all doing this on behalf of each other. And I think that builds like a really strong sense of solidarity that we might not otherwise have if you're going with a more institutional (union).”
Other workers shared Robins’ concerns that a larger union wouldn’t be as committed to unionizing, saying the stakes aren’t as high for paid organizers who can lead one campaign and then move on to the next from the comfort of their unionized position, regardless of success.
Some workers specifically had concerns about working with UFCW.
“We were feeling reluctant to affiliate or ask for help from UFCW,” McMahon said.
Growing up with teachers as parents in a mining and smelting town in Montana, McMahon saw a lot of strong union activity as a child.
“While I've never worked a union job, I've always seen the value of it,” she said.
But in 2017, McMahon, who has worked at Seven Corners for nearly seven years, recalls the store participating in a campaign with UFCW to pressure the company to allow unionization. McMahon said the campaign did very little for the workers.
“They weren't really actively doing anything,” McMahon said.
The workers didn’t feel confident in UFCW’s ability to create change for them now, given their experience with the prior campaign. Additionally, McMahon said other workers at the meeting had worked for grocery stores unionized through UFCW in the past, “and they weren’t very enthusiastic about doing so again,” she said.
Despite its prominence and 1.3 million members, UFCW doesn’t have the best reputation with workers. Lately, some food workers represented by the union in the United States questioned UFCW's dedication to organizing due to a reported 232% rise in stock investments since 2015 and a decrease in organizing. Members are calling for the ability to vote, more investment in organizing and coordinated bargaining.
According to Essential Workers, a coalition of UFCW members and organizers intent on holding union leadership accountable, the UFCW general fund's 2015-2021 total investments rose 232% from $118 million to $395 million, while spending on organizing was "gutted," allegedly costing UFCW over 55,000 members. In July, August and again in September, Local 1059 in Columbus, Ohio, rejected contract offers from UFCW and Kroger due to dissatisfaction with UFCW’s bargaining. Members of the local then claimed UFCW intimidated members into voting for a sellout contract on Oct 6. The recent announcement of a potential merger between Albertsons and Kroger, one of UFCW’s largest representations, added to the tension.
Trouble at UFCW
Though McMahon said she wasn’t aware of the reform movement before deciding to form an independent union, the internal strife within UFCW solidifies the workers’ conviction to form an independent union.
Growing up, organizer and Concordia worker Raël Adkerson’s mother worked at a Safeway store for 27 years. The store was unionized by UFCW, and while the union support was initially positive for Adkerson’s mother, the experience soured over time.
“(The experience) turned my mom into being a lot more reluctant and disappointed and almost felt betrayed by her union representation by the time that she was done working with Safeway,” Adkerson said.
Seeing his mother’s experience with UFCW shaped Adkerson’s desire to work with an independent union.
“When it comes to the (United States) and for UFCW, it's just institutional unions in general right now,” Adkerson said. “There are certain trades and certain occupations that have strong unions and unions that really look after the labor and the workers that participate in them, but there's many unions that have failed us, and grocery is one of the biggest examples of where institutional unions have failed us.”
Adkerson said UFCW, as one of the largest grocery unions, is “a shining example of one of these unions that operates in a way that give unions a bad rap across the country.”
Miles Eshia, UFCW Local 555 Communications Lead, told Street Roots UFCW would not provide comment for this story.
A shifting tide
Of course, there are cons to taking the independent route.
“There's less institutional backing,” Adkerson said. “There's less power and there's less funding. There's less resources.”
For Adkerson, the pros outweigh the cons.
“So many pros, so many pros, because of the excitement of being on the ground floor of something, right?” he said. “That is a huge, huge pro. The excitement of knowing that you have as much intention and trust in the union as you do (in) your co-workers.”
Though McMahon, Adkerson and Robins admit the odds were stacked against them without professional organizers, they found support in an unexpected network of independent unions. Turning to local independent unions, Doughnut Workers United and Burgerville Workers Union for advice, McMahon said they received a wealth of support and knowledge that normally would have come from an established union partnership.
NSLU may be a part of a new tide in the labor movement — a network of solidarity between independent worker-led unions questioning the need for institutional unions.
“I think eventually that is going to be the reality,” McMahon said of independent unions relying on each others collective knowledge to fill the gaps. “I do think that unions kind of working together to fill those gaps.”
Access to information is vital if this new movement is going to succeed.
“There's a lot of gatekeeping done about how to organize, and it really shouldn't be that way,” McMahon said.
Thankfully, in the age of digital information, forming independent unions has become easier, organizers said.
“I think it's directly tied to the age of information and the internet,” Adkerson said. “A lot of us now can be informed about the history of unions in this country and how there is a lot of strength in organizing and coming together and understanding what happened when it comes to the power of unions and how that shifted away from the actual workers' hands.
“So I really think it's due to our ability to be more informed on these things nowadays that many people across different employee groups are moving this way.”
After petitioning the NLRB for a labor election, Seven Corners workers voted 62-15 in favor of unionizing on Sept. 7, forcing the company to recognize the new, independent New Seasons Labor Union.
“I think we're just excited to see what's next,” Robins said. “After we get this election, it'll be nice to be able to focus on bargaining but also focus on what we as a union can do for our community and start to leverage some of the solidarity and strength that we've built collectively for the rest of our community as well.”
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.
© 2022 Street Roots. All rights reserved. | To request permission to reuse content, email editor@streetroots.org or call 503-228-5657, ext. 404
