Oregon saw at least one union election win, eight new workplaces file for elections or launch union campaigns and four labor actions in July. This was a dip in elections and labor actions but an increase in filings from June.
Bargaining continues for several workplaces across the state, with a few preparing for potential strikes. The United Parcel Service and Teamsters have reached a tentative agreement, but if rank and file members vote against the contract, workers in Oregon and every other state could strike in August. A UPS strike would be the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history.
"Last month in Oregon labor" is a monthly installment by Aurora Biggers covering all things Oregon labor.
Contract negotiations continue to drag with Powell’s Books, as the company continues to offer unlivable wages, according to the union.
In addition to bargaining, workers across various industries in Portland, Eugene, Grants Pass, Beaverton and Salem filed for union elections this month. Notably, Starbucks workers increased the national union’s ranks by three locations all filing simultaneously.
New campaigns and elections
First Student bus monitors in Coos Bay voted 5-0 to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 on July 7.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5 filed for a union election for Free Geek workers in Portland on July 7.
A new independent union campaign launched in Eugene on July 10. United Petitioners of Oregon are asking for voluntary recognition from their employer, Joe Emmons of Osprey Field Services. Workers say UFCW is a major client of their employer and are urging the union to push Osprey to recognize UPO.
Starbucks Workers United announced three more Starbucks locations in Oregon are unionizing July 12. Locations at Parkway and Terry Lane in Grants Pass, Valley Plaza in Beaverton and Glen Creek Road and Wallace Road in Salem filed for elections through the National Labor Relations Board.
Guardian Games employees in Portland filed for a union with UFCW Local 555 on July 12. NLRB records show the store hired Ogletree Deakins, also known to represent entities like New Seasons against their unionizing workers.
Unity Center for Behavioral Health employees in Portland filed for a union with the Oregon Nurses Association on July 14.
Downtown Portland Buffalo Exchange workers launched a public campaign for their union on Sunday, July 30, and are demanding voluntary recognition from management.
Labor actions
Magic Tavern dancers in Portland remain on strike as they demand union recognition and significant workplace changes from management. Dancers are still waiting for the NLRB to set an election date but say the pre-election meeting went well, though they say the owner, Benjamin Donahue, did not appear or send any representatives on his behalf.
Over 300,000 UPS workers across the United States, including in Oregon, are preparing to potentially strike at the end of the month as their contract expires on July 31. In preparation, workers represented by Teamsters have held practice pickets throughout the Portland Metro area to show the company their readiness to strike if UPS fails to meet their demands for better wages and work conditions.
UPS and Teamsters reached a tentative agreement, but the rank and file members will vote to accept or deny it. Many members say the agreement doesn’t go far enough as it would only raise the minimum pay to $21 when workers were asking for $25.
Kaiser health care workers, represented by SEIU Local 49, held three pickets at the Hillsboro Westside, Portland Interstate and Clackamas Sunnyside locations between July 24 and July 28. The pickets come three months before workers’ current contract is set to expire. The union says it is bargaining around issues of understaffing and better wages.
Burgerville workers surprised management when their planned picket outside the convention center location on July 28 turned into a strike. Workers say management is refusing to bargain on the union’s second contract. The union also says it filed eight unfair labor practice complaints since bargaining began in April. The contract, ratified in 2021, expired May 1.
Negotiations
Workers at Legal Aid Services of Oregon represented by the United Auto Workers Union are in the middle of negotiations for their next contract but say the organization is offering a three-year contract that effectively cuts pay due to inflation.
“(We) work hard to ensure low-income Oregonians are protected from domestic violence, have access to safe and affordable housing, health care, and social safety nets, and can work without harassment and discrimination,” the union stated. “We are asking for the support of our union siblings, our fellow legal advocates, and anyone who cares about protecting the workers who protect low-income Oregonians.”
The union is currently building a hardship fund in case negotiations fail and they decide to strike.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 600 is representing Portland KGW-TV photojournalists and editors as they negotiate their next contract. They are currently working under a contract that expired in March.
“KGW's parent corporation, Tegna, recently posted a profit of $630 million in 2022 and yet offers a meager 1% salary increase in this time of rising cost of living and insists on forcing concessions which would weaken their union,” IATSE said.
The Portland State University Faculty Association is currently in bargaining for the university’s adjunct contract. Amid budget cuts, lay-offs and canceled classes, PSU adjuncts say they are fighting for better wages. Adjuncts reportedly teach 40% of PSU’s courses but only account for 10% of the payroll budget.
Bargaining continues for ILWU 5 and Powell’s workers as they fight for a higher wage. The union said Powell’s management presented its “final offer” this month, highlighting a base wage more than $5 below what the union says is a living wage for Portland and health care plans that are “unaffordable for most workers under the company’s wage proposal.”
Further, the union says Powell’s owner, Emily Powell, has not attended any of the bargaining sessions.
SEIU 503 reached a tentative agreement with the state for the 22,000 workers it represents, including DHS, ODOT and parks employees. The new contract would include “the best (Cost-Of-Living Adjustments) our union has seen in decades,” the local said. The contract also addresses issues of economic justice, safety and equitability and sustainable workloads.
Amid contract negotiations, SEIU 503 is now representing Portland Public Schools custodians who say there is a pattern of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The union says at least five custodians have reported sexual harassment to human resources.
“In all of these cases, the harassment has not stopped, and the district has failed to protect workers from further harassment and retaliation,” the union said.
In two cases, the union says workers who filed complaints were fired for “unrelated matters.”
SEIU says it is demanding the PPS board address the harassment and retaliation.
“This is clearly an issue that these are not isolated incidents, but part of a larger pattern of discrimination which management is complicit in perpetuating,” Gabe Penk, a steward and bargaining team member, said. “We are forced to bring these painful stories of harassment before the board because the current system has failed to guarantee a safe and dignified workplace.”
The sexual harassment complaints come as the union prepares for arbitration with PPS over the district’s refusal to give hazard pay to custodians who worked during the snowstorm in February, despite the union saying workers met the conditions for hazard pay as outlined in the contract.
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