Posts tagged Portland
More than 600 city of Portland workers out on strike
February 2, 2023 // Portlanders will feel an impact from the strike, though it’s not clear yet just how deep or how quickly. Mayor Ted Wheeler has authorized using independent contractors to do some of the work of striking city employees. Local 483 includes people responsible for fixing sewage leaks, cleaning trash at city parks, and clearing streets of ice and snow, among other tasks. At a City Council meeting Wednesday, union representative James O’Laughlen urged commissioners to agree to the union’s proposal.
Portland city laborers rally outside Portland City Hall ahead of planned strike
January 30, 2023 // More than 600 Portland workers in the wastewater, parks and transportation fields plan to strike on Feb. 2, starting at midnight. The groups of workers planning to go on strike, according to the union, include: About 280 Bureau of Transportation workers, from concrete finishers to asphalt rakers to utility workers About 200 Parks & Recreation workers, from park technicians and turf technicians to horticulturalists and park rangers About 100 Bureau of Environmental Services workers, namely sewage and wastewater employees Other city employees, including fleet and vehicle workers
Starbucks announces closure of Portland store that voted to unionize
November 17, 2022 // Starbucks says it reviewed whether the store was thriving, the workers felt supported and whether customer needs were met. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree tweeted that this is blatant union busting, and she's demanding the National Labor Relations Board investigate right away. Maine
Voodoo Doughnut workers unionize in second attempt
October 13, 2022 // The vote came after a previous union campaign in 2021 ended in a 9-9 tie, meaning a loss for the union. But after a year, the tide shifted. Union supporters changed tactics for the 2022 campaign in response to feedback from coworkers. Some workers wanted to minimize picketing and marching on the boss, both of which were part of the prior year effort.
Old Town Voodoo Doughnut employees vote to unionize
October 3, 2022 // Voodoo Doughnut was founded by Portlanders Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon at the Old Town location in 2003. The Portland Business Journal reported that the San Francisco-based equity firm Fundamental Capital bought a large stake in the company in 2017. However, Kenneth and Pogson told PBJ that they retained “significant ownership and influence in the company.” Doughnut Workers United and Voodoo Doughnut itself did not immediately respond to KOIN 6’s request for comment.
Workers at Sellwood’s New Seasons Market Vote Against Unionizing
September 19, 2022 // Employees at the Sellwood New Seasons store voted against unionizing Thursday afternoon, just 24 hours after their peers at a SE Division New Seasons shop voted to unionize. A total of 33 workers voted against unionizing, while 29 voted to join the New Seasons Labor Union.
Communications Workers of America Files Unfair Labor Complaint Against Verizon Express Portland
August 12, 2022 // This week’s move follows a wave of union organizing among Verizon retail workers. Workers at Seattle-area Verizon stores voted to unionize in April, and in Flint, Michigan, have a pending NLRB union election. Unlike workers at full-service stores, workers at Verizon Express stores do not make a commission on sales, leaving them with less take-home pay compared to workers at other stores. The Portland workers are the first Verizon Express store workers in the country to file for formal union representation. Lori Claxton
Maine nurses to vote on union decertification
July 29, 2022 // The group argues that mail balloting elections "benefit union organizers" because of lower turnout among voters. It also argues that mail balloting has resulted in "post office errors that disenfranchise workers" and alleges that union organizers engage in "ballot harvesting" which "undermines the privacy of workers’ votes." While the nurses have had union representation for more than a year, they have still yet to finalize a contract with the Maine Medical Center. That has led to recent job actions with nurses calling for improved working conditions and other workplace issues. Todd Ricker
New Seasons Employees Have Filed for Union Elections
June 2, 2022 // The separate announcements and filings were deliberate: Employees of the independent New Seasons Labor Union decided to represent themselves without an established union partner. “We decided that the best way for us to be heard was for us to represent ourselves,” a New Seasons Labor Union organizer told the Mercury.