Roll Call: Wild Lilac teachers present and ready to bargain

As the pandemic drags on, most “frontline”/“essential”/”hero” workers can easily agree on at least one thing: it’s been a difficult slog. The teachers and support staff of preschools across the United States are no exception.

Many of these centers have remained open and throughout the pandemic, workers have put themselves in the crosshairs of dozens of potential vectors: unvaccinated and often enough, unmasked children, many of whom belong to families of nurses, doctors, and other essential workers. In fact, it is the staff of preschools that have allowed many families to continue working and serving the public, for the greater good, over these last 18 months.

The workers of Wild Lilac, in Portland, Oregon were inspired when they saw that other preschool teachers had organized and joined the union.

In March 2020, workers of Growing Seeds had a landslide vote in support of joining ILWU Local 5. Due to that embrace of union rights and especially the right to collective bargaining, workers at Growing Seeds have had a forum to address grievances and tackle the issues presented by the pandemic, in addition to regular contract negotiations. Faced with issues at their own center, Wild Lilac workers were keen on the idea of organizing so they too could approach their concerns collectively and in support of each other.

After working with organizers, the workers formed the Wild Lilac Union (WLU) under the umbrella of ILWU Local 5. In late August, they notified their employer of their intent to unionize and unlike many employers, the director and several board members of the school voiced their support for workers’ right to organize.

Because of this, the union and employer quickly came to an agreement on the scope of the bargaining unit and a short 10 days later, ballots were in the mail. However, not to take for granted an election win, workers kept up the momentum in their communications with each other and organized a rally that was graciously held on school grounds, two days after the vote started. The result of their hard work and focus in supporting their community was 86% votes cast in support of unionization.

Since their victory, the WLU has been hard at work with preparing for negotiations, including hosting membership meetings, holding nominations for the bargaining team, and conducting member surveys to develop bargaining demands.

Now the second group of preschool workers to organize with ILWU in the Portland metropolitan area, the hope is yet more workers in the field will see the possibility of organized labor in their industry and together with the ILWU in support, workers can raise the wage, benefit and working condition standards of centers throughout the area.

– Ryan Takas