Oregon saw at least two unions win elections, four new workplaces file for elections or launch union campaigns and 12 labor actions in June — fewer elections than in May but double the filings and one more labor action.
In historic labor news, Portland’s Magic Tavern dancers are on the precipice of organizing the first union at a strip club in Oregon history and the third in U.S. history. Workers announced they filed for an election with Actors’ Equity on June 6, the same union to represent dancers at North Hollywood, California’s Star Garden — the only currently unionized strip club in the United States.
In other strike news, Providence nurses went on strike this month — the first health care strike in Oregon in 20 years.
New campaigns and elections After 10 months, Friends of the Children workers in Portland voted 40-3 to join AFT-Oregon FriendsPDX Union Network.
The White Bird Clinic in Eugene filed for a union election with Teamsters Local 206 on June 5.
The City of Portland Professional Workers Union won its election 306-68 in early June. The union says it is the second-largest independent union in Oregon, representing more than 700 workers. The union says Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) is the largest independent union in the state, but PCUN did not share its membership numbers with Street Roots.
Workers at Free Geek, a technology nonprofit in Portland, filed for a union election for their independent union, Free Geek Workers Union, on June 15.
Beaverton Starbucks workers filed for a union election with Starbucks Workers United on June 21.
Labor Actions Nurses at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, delivered a 10-day notice of their intent to strike to hospital management June 1. The notice informed management that the nearly 1,000 nurses at the facility intend to begin their strike June 12. However, the union reached a tentative agreement with Providence averting the strike and ensuring wage increases for most workers.
Hawthorne Burgerville workers held a rally June 3 because the company refused to move meaningfully on ground rules, according to workers, and currently is refusing to take arbitration seriously, racking up unfair labor practice complaints.
Macadam Starbucks workers held a sit-in June 8 and a rally June 10 after the company fired union organizer Alicia Flores.
Oregon state workers represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 503 rallied at the state capitol in Salem to demand a “fair contract” with higher wages and more sustainable workloads June 8. SEIU Local 503 state workers also held more than 60 pickets throughout Oregon as part of the “Picket to Win It” action June 28, with workers’ then-current contract expiring June 30.
Magic Tavern dancers, on strike since April, held an informational picket June 11 . Workers went public with their union campaign in early June. Conflicts between dancers and management stem from a long list of safety concerns raised by dancers. According to workers, the club operates with a dangerous lack of safety precautions, including no security cameras, insufficient security guards and an improperly installed pole. Workers say one dancer was drugged while working, but a lack of security camera footage and negligent management left the dancer without recourse.
“Sex work is work, and as workers, we deserve to be treated with respect — not have our jobs threatened when we ask for the bare minimum: safety and dignity,” the dancers said in an April 4 statement to owner Benjamin Donohue and the public. Street Roots previously attempted to reach Donohue for comment and was unsuccessful.
Salem-Keizer Education Association teachers rallied on June 12 at McKay High School during its last bargaining session for the school year.
On June 16, the Oregon Nurses Association issued a 10-day strike notice to OHSU facilities in Portland, Hillsboro and Astoria. Nurses held informational pickets outside the locations June 27, June 28 and June 29. Nurses are calling for increased staffing, retention and improved workplace safety measures.
“Nurses are asking hospital executives to invest their rising profits in patient care improvements; provider retention and recruitment; and safe, accessible, affordable health care for their communities,” according to a June 26 press release.
Approximately 1,800 nurses and clinicians from three facilities — Providence Portland, Providence Home Health and Hospice, and Providence Seaside — went on strike June 19 to June 23 due to dragging contract negotiations. Providence canceled all bargaining sessions after the Oregon Nurses Association issued the 10-day strike notice. The action was the first nursing strike in Oregon in over 20 years. Nurses are calling for more sustainable workloads, increased pay and improved benefits.
The Providence nurses’ strike garnered significant attention and public support, including U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, tweeting in support of striking nurses.
Salem's Gilbert House Museum workers, who began rallying weekly in April after they said the museum targeted and terminated employees for “speaking hard truths about the state of the museum and the apparent mismanagement in upper leadership,” temporarily paused their action June 24 to discuss solutions with management.
The Lincoln City, Oregon Trail, Jenkins, Pioneer Courthouse Square and Grand and Lloyd Starbucks locations are among over 150 locations nationwide that went on strike this month after Starbucks said it would not allow Pride decor in the stores this year.
OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center workers rallied June 22 after the center announced it is terminating over 50 housekeeping and cafe employees who are mostly women of color. The center reportedly plans to outsource their jobs to a third-party company.
Workers at the Portland International Airport — including wheelchair attendants, baggage service workers, cabin cleaners and janitors — held a rally and sit-in at the airport on June 28 to demand their employers recognize their right to sit at work and offer a fair process to form a union.
Negotiations The Portland Community College Faculty Federation and Academic Professionals is currently bargaining its next contract with the college. During its latest meeting, the union said it presented proposals on shared governance while the college made proposals regarding rules, “most of which were uninspiring,” Ben Cushing, an organizing officer, said.
Portland Street Response workers, represented by Professional & Technical Employees Local 17, are in the midst of negotiating their first contract with the city.
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