IBU members at Georgia-Pacific’s Kelly Point warehouse facility in Portland went on strike after management refused to bargain in good faith.
Enraged shouts broke the silence outside Georgia- Pacific’s Kelly Point warehouse facility in Portland on the afternoon of September 9th when workers halted operations and called a strike to protest unfair labor practices.
“They want to cut just about everything you can think of, and they refuse to bargain fairly. That’s why we’re walking out of here today,” said Inlandboatmen’s Union member Shawn McClary, capturing the mood of members who carried picket signs, raised their voices and marched in front of the warehouse.
Employees took the strike action after concluding that the company was stalling and refusing to bargain in good faith.
“If they won’t bargain fairly with us, then we have to stand up for our rights by taking action,” said shop steward Jose Flores. At 1pm, Shawn McClary, Jose Flores and other warehouse workers caught supervisors off-guard by suddenly leaving the shop-floor and launching a picket line
outside the main entrance gate. They were joined by IBU President Alan Coté and other Columbia River IBU leaders. A worker at the nearby Kelly Point facility in
Wilsonville also joined the strike and managers soon locked the doors on the Wilsonville facility.
Kelly Point memberson their day off came down to join the picket line, along with supporters from
other IBU shops, ILWU Local 8, Jobs With Justice, Portland Rising, UNITE-HERE Local
9 and others who came as word of the job action spread throughout the community.
The picket line was strong. G-P’s Director of Human Resources chose not to drive her car through
the line, and could only watch from the road as the action kept growing larger and stronger. Truck drivers arriving to make scheduled pickups also chose to honor the line. When supervisors attempted to re-route drivers to side entrances, members quickly extended their picket line to cover all three gates. Ten trucks turned around to honor the picketers, each generating loud cheers of support from workers and allies. Some drivers parked their rigs on the street so they could talk to warehouse workers about the strike, and offer their solidarity and support.
A huge cheer erupted when word reached the lines that union electricians inside the warehouse had walked out. At four o’clock, members huddled together while managers watched and scowled. Without warning, workers walked back into the warehouse, fired up their forklifts and resumed work.
Shawn McClary, Jose Flores and President Coté officially notified management that everyone had
unconditionally offered to return to work. As management scrambled to make sense of the revolt, workers returned to the warehouse with a new sense of pride and power – while supporters outside continued chanting: “we’ll be back!”