Even more activity than in February; Oregon labor sees at least five unions win, seven workplaces file and eight labor actions
Oregon’s labor scene saw even more activity in the third month of 2023, with at least five union wins, seven filings and eight labor actions — more than double the wins and double the labor actions of last month.
Starbucks workers continued to stick it to Howard Schultz, the Oregon Senate passed a bill to bring big protections for workers and Portland is getting a new, shiny worker center.
New campaigns and elections United Cinema Workers at Living Room Theaters in Portland won their union election 6-to-4 March 1, after striking in January and filing in February.
While neither a new union or a decertification, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters dissolved eight locals in Oregon and Washington on March 1. Oregon members are now represented by just two locals — Local 503 and Local 541.
Masami Foods workers in Klamath Falls filed for a union with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 on March 2.
Market of Choice workers at the Belmont location joined the independent union movement with their newly formed Market of Choice Labor Union. The campaign went public March 2 and requested voluntary recognition from the company. After the company declined to voluntarily recognize the union March 13, workers filed March 21.
After Starbucks Workers United workers won an election at the Southeast 102nd Avenue and Stark Street location in February, two more won elections this month and another filed with the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks workers at the Pioneer Square location in Portland voted 15-to-3 for the union March 3. Workers at the Northeast Stucki Avenue location in Hillsboro voted unanimously for the union the week of March 13.
Portland State University Urban Center Starbucks workers filed for a union through SBWU on March 14. Starbucks workers at a Lincoln City location are also filing, the union announced March 23, making it the 27th Starbucks location to organize in Oregon by Street Roots’ count.
The Oregon Nurses Association announced March 7 that 370 frontline nurses at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham filed for a union with the association March 6.
Workers at Yecuris, a biotechnology research lab in Portland, unionized with Teamsters Local 206 with a 9-to-6 vote March 8.
Workers at JOIN, a social service organization that helps homeless people transition to permanent housing, announced that leadership was voluntarily recognizing the JOIN Workers Union, represented by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, March 10.
The city of Portland is reportedly attempting to delay an election for the independent City of Portland Professional Workers union. The city claims none of the 762 office employees who filed are eligible for a union.
Friends of Children workers in Portland delivered a petition to management March 23 asking for voluntary recognition of their union, FriendsPDX Union Network.
Strikes and pickets Maletis Beverage workers in Portland authorized an unfair labor practice strike through Teamsters Local 162 on March 5. The union could have gone on strike as early as March 11 if Teamsters leadership had called for the strike.
Stabilization and Crisis Unit workers at the Oregon Department of Human Services in Salem, represented by AFSCME, held a picket March 9 to garner attention for the staffing crisis affecting workers, according to the union.
CertainTeed Roofing workers, represented by Laborers Local 737 in Portland, went on strike for two-and-a-half weeks, starting Feb. 22. The strike came a few days after workers voted against a company contract offer. Workers ratified a new contract March 12, ending the strike. The new contract increases annual raises and adds new holidays to the calendar.
Portland Public School custodians, represented by Service Employees International Union 503 Local 140, held a rally outside district headquarters at the Prophet Education Center in Northeast Portland on March 16 to demand hazard pay that the district is refusing to pay workers for their work during the winter storm Feb. 22. The union said the refusal of hazard pay is a breach of contract.
The Oregon Nurses Association held a candlelight vigil March 17 at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham to protest the executives decision to close the Family Birth Center.
“The birth center serves nearly 275,000 people in East Multnomah and Clackamas Counties including historically underserved neighborhoods with some of the highest concentrations of poverty in Oregon,” the union said in a March 16 press release.
Starbucks Workers United marched from the Southwest Oak Street location to the Pioneer Square location March 19 to demand the company bargain in good faith during union contract negotiations. Starbucks workers across the United States then went on strike March 22, including at 14 locations in Portland, Beaverton, Gresham, Eugene and Springfield, to demand an end to the company’s union-busting actions.
Portland labor and community members rallied outside the Sentinel Hotel in Portland on March 23 to protest North America Adidas president Rupert Campbell's speaking event and wage theft throughout the Adidas supply chain.
Burgerville Workers Union members rallied at the Hawthorne Burgerville on March 25 to demand an end to unfair labor practices and called for better working conditions. The rally comes ahead of the union’s contract expiring May 1. The union has also called for donations to its strike fund, though it has not announced a strike.
Negotiations The Comic Book Workers United union announced that Image Comics workers in Portland ratified their first contract March 1, after unionizing in December 2022.
Technical employees at the Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles voted unanimously to approve their first union contract, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals union announced March 6. The contract includes pay scales commensurate with experience, a grievance procedure for resolving workplace issues, and rules governing working conditions.
Powell’s Books workers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, are on the ninth week of contract negotiations. On March 9, the union said the company had not yet delivered a reasonable wage proposal.
Evergreen Virtual Academy workers unanimously ratified their first union contract through Oregon Virtual Academy Educators Union on March 10. The contract includes a 5% raise and other benefits.
Neighborhood Partnerships and workers represented by ILWU started the bargaining process March 21, after leadership voluntarily recognized the union in February.
State legislation, New Worker Center The Oregon Senate passed a bill March 7 aimed at protecting workers by enforcing stronger penalties for workplace safety violations. The Oregon House of Representatives will now consider Senate Bill 592.
State Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Southeast and Northeast Portland, who sponsored the bill, said Oregon’s penalties for workplace safety violations are more than 73% below the national standard. The bill will also require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to conduct comprehensive inspections when a business violates worker safety three or more times in one year or when a work-related fatality occurs.
Portland Jobs with Justice, a coalition that supports workers in organizing, will open a new Worker Center in Portland. The organization hired Mark Medina, a former Burgerville Workers Union organizer, as the center’s staff organizer. The center will help educate workers about their rights and how to form a union, with a primary focus on food and retail workers.
"Last month in Oregon labor" is a monthly installment by Aurora Biggers covering all things Oregon labor.
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