Notes from the National Board Rep

Sisters and Brothers,

I bring you good news this month. The Portland Local has been busier than ever with opportunities for members to educate and organize, which is this board’s mission. You may be sure that our (long) monthly board meetings are packed with committee reports, plans for future events, and ways in which we can both improve our members’ working lives and help all of us be the best professionals we can be. Before I leave this topic, a quick reminder of just how fun it is to be a committee member in today’s Portland Local; our groups are active, positive and led by working pros. You’ll find there’s plenty to put your shoulder to, volunteering with old friends and new on local committees such as Stunts, Events, Organizing, Communications and more. Join in!

There is more good news. Unionism is on the rise! Let’s look locally for a moment. Outside In, which is a nonprofit health and social services organization for homeless youth and other marginalized people, has unionized, with Oregon ASFCME as their parent union (I’m proud to say ’twas I that added that bit of exciting news to their Wiki page). Nonprofits rarely organize, and the workers at Outside In faced an uphill battle from management. But, by a vote of 81-18, the front-line workers prevailed. The same is true for Burgerville: It is the first fast-food chain to organize in the U.S., now with two shops proudly operating under the Burgerville Workers Union (BWU) banner.

Nationwide, union membership is up after decades of decline, with the Bureau of Labor Services reporting raw numbers showing the rate of unionization increased from 10.69 percent to almost 10.75 percent in 2017. Yes, this is a small increase, but as AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka puts it, “In the face of a challenging year, the power of working people is on the rise.”

And while there is very real concern over the Janus v. AFSCME case, which killed mandatory union dues for anyone in a public union wishing to do so (and thus essentially promulgates “right-to-work” status to the 22 states that have not fallen to RTW), it’s important to remember that Janus does not affect private sector unions, and that’s where most of the current union membership growth resides. 

Here are my marching orders, I hope they’re yours: Be an ambassador for our union and for unionism. Share the good news with other potential members. Spend your money at union shops and on union goods. Take on the “right-to-work” battle with sword and shield when it comes to Oregon’s borders, as it inevitably will. And know that any time any shop organizes, it makes all of us stronger. Grab a veggie burger at 92nd & Powell or the Gladstone shop and let them know you’re a sister or brother in arms.

Because we are a family, us unionists. And maybe that’s the best news of all.

— Mary McDonald-Lewis, for the Portland Local newsletter.