Oregon labor saw a slight increase in union wins and new campaigns in February from the prior month, with seven election victories and eight new campaigns or election filings. However, this month lagged marginally in labor actions. Compared to January, February had two fewer labor actions.
Union wins and new campaigns are beginning to pick up in the new year for Oregon. Unsurprisingly, healthcare was a dominant theme for the month.
Providence workers hit their hospital system with two election filings and an election victory at multiple locations across the state. Legacy workers did the same, winning two elections covering most Portland-area locations.
For two weeks, PeaceHealth home care nurses in the Eugene area held a dominating strike, pushing against unfair labor practices and “nearly a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations,” the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) said in a press release.
New campaigns and elections
On Feb. 1, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reported that Starbucks baristas in Medford voted 11-4 to join Starbucks Workers United, increasing unionized Starbucks locations in Oregon to 29. Hayden Island and Hillsboro baristas announced their campaigns in November and December but have yet to vote.
Swire Coca-Cola checkers in Wilsonville lost their election to join the Teamsters Local 162 in a 4-5 vote on Feb. 1.
On Feb. 2, Providence advanced practice providers filed to join ONA. The providers work at Providence locations across the state, including Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Providence Portland Medical Center, Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Providence Newberg Medical Center, Providence Hood River Medical Center, Providence Seaside and all HIV clinics.
The Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association (PNHMA) hit Providence St. Vincent Medical Center with another filing on Feb. 8, announcing its intent to unionize all hospitalist nurse practitioners.
On Feb. 8, the NLRB announced that Avangrid Renewables plant technician operators in Klamath Falls voted 8-4 to join IBEW Local 659.
In an overwhelming landslide, Springfield Fred Meyer employees voted 55-4 to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, the NLRB reported on Feb. 8.
On Feb. 12, the NLRB announced physicians in Legacy Women’s Health Services Division clinics in Portland and Silverton voted 16-1 to join PNHMA.
Legacy workers secured another union victory on Feb. 12 when Legacy biomedical technicians at locations across the Portland metropolitan area voted 22-4 to join the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 (IUOE).
Also, on Feb. 12, workers at The Portland Mercury and EverOut Portland announced their campaign to unionize with the Pacific Northwest News Guild alongside their Seattle counterparts at The Stranger, EverOut Seattle and Bold Type. Their parent company, Index Media agreed to voluntarily recognize the union on Feb. 27.
Physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners at Providence locations in Tigard, Sherwood, Canby, Portland, Happy Valley and Hillsboro voted 58-4 to join PNHMA, the NLRB reported on Feb. 21.
On Feb. 21, field technicians at Hunter Communications in Central Oregon filed to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 659 (IBEW).
American Federation of Musicians Local 99 in Portland voluntarily recognized its workers' decision to unionize with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5 (ILWU), according to a joint press release on Feb. 21.
In a close election, welders at Hoffman Instrumentation Supply in Hillsboro voted 4-5 not to unionize with the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290, the NLRB reported on Feb. 22.
On Feb. 26, Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association box office employees in Ashland filed to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). This filing comes after the festival’s finance employees filed to join IATSE in November.
Electrical workers, maintenance engineers, painters and electronics technicians at CHI Mercy in Roseburg filed to join IBEW Local 659 on Feb. 27.
On Feb. 28, delivery workers at Misfits Market in Clackamas filed the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 555.
Closing out February, NLRB records show diagnostic imaging nurses at the Providence Portland Medical Center voted 4-0 to join ONA on Feb. 29.
Labor Actions
Nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services in Lane County held a limited duration strike Feb. 10-24 “to protect their community’s health and safety, combat care delays, secure equitable pay and address PeaceHealth’s staffing crisis at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services,” ONA said in a press release.
ONA said the nurses began negotiating with PeaceHealth executives in February 2023, but their contract expired in April 2023.
Since announcing their intent to strike, nurses said PeaceHealth has committed multiple unfair labor practices (ULPs), like allegedly refusing to meet and bargain and threatening to terminate the nurses' health insurance.
Amid ongoing contract negotiations, flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants held pickets at at least 30 airports worldwide on Feb. 13, including at the Portland International Airport. The union says the attendants are fighting for better pay and working conditions.
On Feb. 18, New Seasons Market workers at the Slabtown location in Portland held a mid-day strike to “protest illegal changes to working conditions,” the New Seasons Labor Union said. The union is still bargaining with the company on a first contract but says the company instituted unilateral schedule changes without bargaining.
In December, New Seasons workers at the Grants Park, Woodstock and Seven Corner locations also held a mid-day strike over the ULPs.
Negotiations
Portland State University classified staff remain in mediation with the university after several months of bargaining, Service Employees International Union Local 503 (SEIU) says.
“Classified staff — the lowest paid workers in the university system — have yet to see a meaningful contract proposal from university management that addresses pay that keeps up with inflation and protects workers’ jobs,” SEIU said in a Feb. 21 statement.
If negotiations continue to drag on, PSU may see a strike. The Teamsters Joint Council 37 announced its members would not cross picket lines if PSU staff decided to strike.
The Portland Community College Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals secured a new two-year contract this month, after a series of actions put pressure on the college system. Among the contract’s wins, the new contract boasts a 14% wage increase between the two years, pay scale increases, increased monthly caps for health insurance, shared governance language, and a remote work agreement.
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