Oregon ranked 13th highest in percent increases in overall NLRB cases across the nation this year, increasing NLRB filings by 147% from 2021
In 2022, Oregon’s labor scene had a burst of activity across trades — ranging from health care to electrical work to social services.
Across the United States, approval for unions was at a 60-year high in 2022, according to Congressional Progressive Caucus Center analysis. In 2022, the National Labor Relations Board saw a nationwide 53% increase in representation cases. Including both representation and Unfair Labor Practice cases, the NLRB saw a 23% increase in cases from 2021, the largest single-year increase since 1976 and the largest percentage increase since 1959.
Oregon ranked 13th highest in percent increases in overall NLRB cases in 2022 across the nation, and Oregon workers filed 126 representation cases with the National Labor Relations Board in 2022, an increase of 147% from 2021.
The real stars of the show were food workers and independent unions. Workers formed seven new independent, worker-led unions this year, six of which were in the food industry. Another five established unions helped start campaigns at food industry businesses across the state.
“When I talked to a lot of organizers, there is a pre- and post-Amazon Labor Union victory because the expectations of what is possible have shifted.”
— Mark Medina, staff organizer for Burgerville Workers Union
With union campaigns on the rise, Mark Medina, the staff organizer for Burgerville Workers Union, said he’s noticed a “massive difference in the landscape of organizing.”
“When I talked to workers years ago, there was a lot of sadness, and there was a lot of, ‘What can truly be done?’ There’s a lot of skepticism that they could take on the boss,” Medina said. “And now when I talk to workers, there is a ton of optimism and there is a ton of feelings of like, ‘We want to do this. We just need to know how. Give me the tools.’ That is massively different from years in the past.”
This shift, according to Medina, is thanks to nationwide independent union movements from Amazon and Starbucks workers.
“When I talked to a lot of organizers, there is a pre- and post-Amazon Labor Union victory because the expectations of what is possible have shifted,” Medina said.
Heading into 2023, Medina said Oregonians can expect more independent unions but also more collaboration between established and independent unions.
“The pluses of (independent unions) are that they are their own workers' democracies,” Medina said. “That no one tells them what to do. They have no boss.”
However, there are limitations to funding and resources when going the independent route.
“So the pooling of those resources and the coordination between campaigns is incredibly important, and I think will be more important in the future to put the bosses on the defensive in the future, pit them against one another,” Medina said. “We can fight for one another and unite one another. And that has to come to fruition next year.”
To workers who are hesitant about joining the movement, Medina emphasizes the power they have over their employers and the potency the movement currently holds.
“The notion that you have to suffer in silence only benefits the employer, the notion that you have to accept the terms the way they are by the people above you is a fallacy meant to uphold their positions,” Medina said. “A better world absolutely is possible. Not just for ourselves, but (for) the people that come after, for the people that depend on us — our friends, our family, our community. We have an obligation to one another to be our brother's keeper.
“And we have an obligation to continue on the fight. And it's never been more ready. It's never been easier, and it's never been better to take on that fight. The road is there. We just have to walk it. And fortunately, in this time and era, you're not going to be walking alone. We'll be there for you.”
Oregon’s 2022 labor scene saw a flurry of new union campaigns — like Doughnut Workers United and Fang! Pet & Garden Supply and Salty's Pet Supply — but there were losses too. Some unions like Millworkers United had massive upsets and are determined to try again in 2023, while others, like Causa, likely suffered permanent losses. Through the victories and losses, workers changed Oregon’s labor landscape in significant ways in 2022.
Independent Unions
Oregon had a burst of independent, worker-led union activity. While Starbucks Workers United, the independent union for Starbucks workers, was unionizing in Oregon since April, workers voted in favor of the union at 23 locations across the state this year.
Following in their tracks, Doughnut Workers United — the independent union for VooDoo Doughnut workers in Portland, assisted by Medina — filed for a union election in August and won the election 16-6.
Keeping in line with the trend, workers at Portland’s Alouette bistro sent a letter of intent to unionize independently to the National Labor Relations Board in July.
New Seasons Labor Union petitioned the NLRB for an election in May and say they were also inspired by Starbucks, Burgerville and VooDoo workers to form an independent union. So far, five locations in the Portland area voted in favor of the union, and two more locations are awaiting elections.
“The time for us to unify around Labor has clearly arrived, and it's great to see that unfold in our community in real-time while seeing that grow nationally,” Raël Adkerson, an NSLU organizer, said.
Most Recently, workers at the downtown Portland Afuri Ramen, also assisted by Medina, filed for union recognition with the NLRB.
Despite the growing success of independent unions in Oregon, two independent unions failed to unionize this year. Crux Fermentation Project workers in Bend voted 10 to 2 against unionizing, and in an upset, Mill Workers United in Portland lost their October election 22 to 17. Crux Fermentation Project workers haven’t said if they will petition for another election in 2023, but MWU said 2023 “is going to see a lot more organizing from us,” according to organizer Alex Amen.
“The workers are always right; the boss is always wrong,” Amen said.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
In early December, landscape workers at Reed College in Portland began organizing with Teamsters Local 305.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers & IronWorkers
After petitioning the NLRB for an election in August, Schoolhouse Electric manufacturing workers in Portland voted 31-24 in October to join IBEW Local 48.
IBEW and Ironworkers contract workers in Woodburn picketed outside an Amazon warehouse build site in March after Amazon committed to using local labor but outsourced most of the build contracts to out-of-state companies.
Industrial Workers of the World
Mirisata restaurant workers in Portland declared a union campaign with signed union cards in February. In a rare response for company management facing a union campaign, Mirisata owners voluntarily recognized the Mirisata Workers Union and the union affiliated with IWW.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
Workers at Specialty Finishes in Portland, affiliated with Vigor Industrial shipyard, organized with IUPAT Painters Local 10. In July, the workers voted in favor of the union, and contract negotiations are ongoing.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
In February, workers at Lines for Life voted to join AFSCME. In June, workers at All Good Northwest in Portland followed suit and also joined AFSCME. AFSCME’s latest campaign is working to unionize workers at another Portland nonprofit, New Avenues for Youth. Workers delivered a letter of intent to unionize to the nonprofit’s director and hope NAFY will voluntarily recognize the union.
International Association of Machinists
In September, workers represented by IAM at Weyerhaeuser mills across the state went on strike and picketed for six weeks due to frustration with the company during contract negotiation. Workers approved a contract in October.
Following a contentious battle for unionization in 2013 and alleged retaliation against union workers in subsequent years, an employee of Precision Castparts in Portland, represented by IAM, filed a decertification petition in May. Workers voted 46 to 17 against remaining in the union in September.
In June, mechanics and lube technicians at Portland’s Jim Fisher Volvo dealership voted to join IAM.
Medical Unions
St. Charles Medical Center workers in Bend requested a union election to join the Central Oregon Providers Network in June. The NLRB has not set an election date yet.
Nurses at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City are organizing with the Oregon Nursing Association to join the union. The nurses announced the campaign in August, but an election date is not currently set.
Technical employees at Providence medical facilities in southern Oregon petitioned to join Service Employees International Union in February.
Communications Workers of America
In September, workers at two Portland Verizon stores voted 4 to 1 to join the CWA.
CWA also assisted with a union campaign in 2020 at Causa of Oregon, a Latino immigrant rights group. Causa voluntarily recognized the union immediately, but contract negotiations became complicated when CWA said it couldn’t recommend Causa management’s final offer due to significant cuts in employee benefits. Unfortunately, Causa decided to close in July 2022, citing issues with the union.
International Longshore & Warehouse Union
Represented by ILWU, Fang! Pet & Garden Supply and Salty's Pet Supply workers in Portland voted to join the union in July. Workers at Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice and Fruit & Flower Child Development Center in Portland also joined ILWU in March and have since ratified their first contract. Port of Vancouver Guards is voting this week to join ILWU.
United Food & Commercial Workers
In May, workers at CBN Holdings in Gresham, represented by UFCW, walked off the job to demand union recognition.
“Oregon cannabis employees have been left without a legal process allowing them to address unsafe working conditions, insufficient pay, and lack of access to health care,” Sandy Humphrey, UFCW Local 555 secretary-treasurer, said in a statement (UFCW Local 555 declined to answer additional questions for this article).
In November, workers at Imperfect Foods in Tigard voted in favor of joining UFCW, despite “anti-union” efforts by the company, according to UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay in a statement.
Workers at a New Seasons location in Hillsboro filed for a union election with UFCW in May. However, unlike four of its sister stores which had successful elections through the independent union, Hillsboro workers voted 60 to 37 against joining the union.
Professional & Technical Employees
In October, Portland Street Response workers contacted PROTEC17 about unionizing. In September, the city voluntarily recognized the union.
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