Story and photos by Pete Shaw Someday they may refer to it as the BVWU Number, the universal standard for the interval between impossibility and achievement. It sure seems like it should be in an organizing textbook. In April 2015, when the Burgerville Workers Union made its debut, it was taking on the challenge of…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw As with so many figures who rose to prominence and power during the Republican Trump Administration, US postmaster general Louis DeJoy has never been shy or subtle about his intentions. Appointed by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS) in May 2020, DeJoy wasted no…
Story and photo by Pete Shaw About 17 years ago, I was hanging out with Friend Cyndy, and after a good amount of Friday drink she suggested we head to a not far away Vietnamese restaurant, Phở Jasmine. Jessica, my better 99%, was game. I forget what we ordered, but I remember it as a…
Story by Pete Shaw If 2020 was a trying year, then 2021 upped the ante. Once again, the idea of Thankfulness this year may seem a bit odd. But as I wrote last year, here we are again, most of us if not all, which is worthy of appreciation and gratitude. And for those who…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw In late February 2020 I went into something like a lockdown. The novel coronavirus was just making news in the United States, and since I take immunosuppressants, my better 99% and I felt it would be best if I laid low. While I had no illusions regarding how long…
“So I continue to shout, Justice! Oh Justice! Where are you? Because I remember.” –Emmett Wheatfall Anniversaries are time’s signposts. Marking occurrences stuck in amber, they retain life through their memories. As time beats on, they both reference and reconsider the…
Story and photo by Pete Shaw When is a home a Home? That is the central question at the heart of C Pam Zhang’s recent novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold. The book, which I recommend highly, was released shortly before the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic and Republican Donald Trump’s racializing…
Story by Pete Shaw On Wednesday March 10, the Portland Area Workers’ Rights Board (WRB) live streamed a public hearing at which some nurses who work at Providence-Oregon and are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), testified about what they believe to be the Catholic organization’s inadequate support of caregivers and its lack of…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw One of the last events I was able to cover prior to the onset of the novel coronavirus was of my Friend Walidah Imarisha speaking at the University of Portland’s inaugural MLK Day On event, on January 20, 2020. After a year and change of masks, social distancing, lockdowns,…
Story and photo by Pete Shaw When I went into a quasi-lockdown a little over a year ago, just before the first case of the novel coronavirus in the US was announced, it seemed my life would continue more or less unchanged. After all, particularly during the Winter, my better 99% prefers I keep a…
