Local 5 organizes new non-profit workplaces, announces new Non-Profit Division
Pioneering a no-cost grievance procedure and securing voluntary recognition are just two of many positive developments
There is a tide rising in the world of non-profit workplaces. Across the country, workers who have been toiling in the service of others by making our society more just are looking inwards and wondering, “Do we not also deserve justice for ourselves? Shouldn’t we also have strong workplace protections and a seat at the table? Do we need a union?”
The answer is, emphatically, YES. That need has especially been highlighted through the pandemic years where non-profit organizations have continued to provide support to our communities, and workers at many organizations have been asked to give more to support the organizational missions. Many workers find themselves drawn to non-profit workplaces because of a shared interest in supporting the organization’s mission, but at a certain point, workers also must take care of themselves. Against that backdrop, Local 5 has begun to develop a new division within the local: the Non-Profit Division.
The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) was the first non-profit workplace to join Local 5. Initially having been in an independent union, workers at OHS saw the value of combining forces with Powell’s and Aramark workers to form a bigger and stronger union. Now, years later, the unit of OHS is finding itself with new groups of non-profit workers looking to join the union.
Interfaith Movement for Racial Justice
The first new group of workers organized were employees at the Interfaith Movement for Racial Justice (IMIrJ). Like many non-profit employers, it is a small workforce. However, what workers lacked in numbers, they made up for in solidarity. Throughout the entire process, workers remained engaged and supportive. Those efforts, along with an employer who was earnest in its sincerity about being a part of the social justice movement — including justice for workers —resulted in a ratified agreement within about six months of negotiations.
In addition to many standard agreements any good union contract would include, workers achieved inflationary wage increases and pioneered a no-cost grievance procedure with binding arbitration. The latter development is critical. It not only ensures that the resources of non-profit employers are preserved for supporting their community mission, but it also preserves the union’s resources to be used to organize unorganized workers. Now, less than a year after the ratification of the IMIrJ contract, new workers are joining the ranks of Local 5 and building on past successes.
Neighborhood Partnerships
In February of this year, workers of Neighborhood Partnerships (NP) announced their unionization with Local 5. After consideration and outreach to resources provided by the union, the NP Board ultimately agreed to voluntary recognition. Local 5 and NP collaborated on a joint press release, in which the Worker Organizing Committee wrote:
“We, the workers of Neighborhood Partnerships, are ecstatic to be voluntarily recognized & join ILWU Local 5. This is significant for a few reasons: 1st, as an organization that advocates for economic & racial justice, it was important for us to come together & live into those values that center the expertise & experience of those most impacted in a liberating & equitable way. 2nd, it is significant that NP as a nonprofit joins the labor movement, not solely to protect our own labor but also to emphasize that unionization is possible & needed in the nonprofit sector. We are looking forward to contributing to the movement for worker solidarity & liberation. Lastly, we are excited to continue to help grow NP into the worker-centered, genuinely equitable, & liberatory organization we know it can be. Coming together & using our collective power as workers will help NP exemplify what an economic & racial justice organization looks like.”
“Neighborhood Partnerships values our staff and the hard work they do day in and day out” said Carlos David García, Executive Director of Neighborhood Partnerships. “Our organization is aligned with the values-centered process our workers have organized around, and we are pleased with the collaborative and open spirit of ILWU Local 5. We know that we all share a commitment to the work and long-term sustainability of Neighborhood Partnerships. We look forward to working together to make that shared vision a reality.”
“ILWU Local 5 is proud to stand with the workers of Neighborhood Partnerships and thrilled about our newly formed relationship with such a leader of economic justice in Oregon,” said Ryan Van Winkle, Local 5 President. “As a labor union, we are honored that those workers who are engaged in the daily struggle of creating economic justice and equity in our communities have chosen to join ILWU Local 5. We know that creating systems of justice at every level of society and for us, within every corner of every workplace, is key to ensuring that all workers have a voice and to uplift and codify the collaboration between leadership and rank-and-file workers.”
Now, less than two months after voluntary recognition, workers have elected their bargaining team; Local 5 has provided training to the team; the union and employer bargaining teams have met twice and come to two substantive agreements (including the employer agreeing to have bargaining “on the clock” and reaching agreement on what positions are included in the union). The parties have scheduled additional bargaining sessions and are optimistic they will be productive.
Community Cycling Center
In March, another group of workers from Community Cycling Center (CCC) who had been meeting with Ryan Takas, the ILWU International Organizer in the region, notified their employer that they would be joining Local 5. This time, in less than two days, CCC agreed to voluntary recognition and, together with the Organizing Committee and the union, issued celebratory statements.
The Workers Organizing Committee of the CCC wrote that they were “proud to announce that we have unionized and joined ILWU Local 5. … The Community Cycling Center Workers Union is made up of workers in Community Programs, Youth Programs, shop mechanics, and retail staff. As the first union bike shop in Portland, we hope to show what is possible when workers act collectively. We look forward to collaborating with leadership to make the CCC the best it can be: resilient in times of change and steadfast in our mission to serve our community. We are grateful to share values with both the ILWU Local 5 and with leadership at our organization.”
Steph Routh, Interim Executive Director, Community Cycling Center, said, “We are grateful to the Community Cycling Center staff for unionizing, because it expands our organization’s toolkit to meet the challenges before us, together. The strength of a union is leveling the power dynamics in a workplace. This is a step forward in building the trusting partnership among all members of our staff and Board, to better show up with and for our communities to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits.” –
“Local 5 has long embraced the idea that promoting bikes as a sustainable form of transportation is pro-environment and pro-community,” said Ryan Van Winkle, ILWU Local 5 President. “From negotiating for bike subsidies in contracts to organizing bike posse events for members to participate, we see bikes help make our cities livable for all. So too do unions play a pivotal role in making our cities livable – by ensuring workers have the opportunity to bargain over wages, benefits, and working conditions; supporting living wage jobs; and by raising the bar for all workers in our society.”
Van Winkle continued, “We are ecstatic to have the workers of CCC joining ILWU Local 5 and are impressed at the swift and decisive action the CCC Board took to support workers in this process.”
Currently, the workers of the CCC are nominating their bargaining team and conducting surveys of the membership in preparation for upcoming negotiations.
Looking ahead to help others
All told, the addition of these workplaces have doubled the size of the Non-Profit Division of Local 5, bringing the total to around 60 workers. While the two newest non-profit groups to join Local 5 are just starting on their path to achieving a union contract, with the support of both the ILWU Organizing Department and Local 5, they are well on their way to achieving an excellent contract. Of particular excitement, however, these new members are not resting on their success in organizing their workplace — many of them are already looking to reach out further and help others who are also looking to unionize.
In the future, Local 5 will inevitably be seeing a continued rise in the number of non-profit employers joining the Non-Profit Division of the union. Together, we will raise industry standards for all workers and support the inalienable fact: ALL WORKERS DESERVE A UNION!
– Ryan Takas
Oregon Area Lead Organizer