Story and photos by Pete Shaw Over 1,100 New Seasons Market workers from 11 Portland area stores went on a one day strike on Wednesday November 28. The New Seasons Labor Union (NSLU) called the strike in response to the company’s “numerous ongoing unfair labor practices.” Would-be shoppers were met by picketing union members and…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Last year I began this annual piece at the Portland Occupier with: “Another year with Covid in the air, and so another year where I was largely grounded due to health concerns. As well, as comes with age, there were health issues with which I had to deal. But…
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 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…
Story by Pete Shaw On Wednesday October 23, Burgerville workers throughout Portland walked off the job and launched the largest strike in the history of the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU). Workers from the Convention Center, 92nd and Powell, Hawthorne, and Montavilla Burgerville locations walked off the job Wednesday morning, saying they would remain on strike…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The French novelist Honoré de Balzac is often credited with having written that behind every great fortune there is a crime. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the ubiquitous company that seems able to sell everything to everyone, everywhere, has surely amassed a great fortune. He is the richest…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw National Cheeseburger Day, while not an official holiday, is doubtless an important one to the restaurant industry. Anything to get customers to spend their money on your product, and it is fair to assume that most restaurants serving burgers had Tuesday September 19 circled on their calendars. But as…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The locally grown Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) now holds the distinction of being the only formally recognized fast food union in the United States. After two days of voting on Sunday and Monday overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, the workers at Burgerville’s store on Southeast 92nd and…
Story by Pete Shaw On second thought, hold the fries. In fact, hold the burgers and shakes too. That was the message sent to Burgerville management from February 1 through 3 when workers at four Burgerville stores went on strike and called for an indefinite boycott of Burgerville. For those three days, outside Burgerville branches…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A year ago, as I began composing our Thanksgiving article, I was in the pits. I was in the middle of a 4 month bout with a foot infection that found me largely lying on the couch, keeping the foot elevated, and feeling frustrated at not being able to…
