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 The students at Ockley Green Middle School are getting an education. Fresh off Spring break, a crowd of over 200 students and parents gathered outside Ockley Green Middle School on the morning of Monday, April 2 in support of social studies teacher Chris Riser. He was placed on leave last month…
Interview conducted by Pete Shaw PS: I remember when Teressa Raiford was on trial, and the day before the actual jury trial happened and one of the arresting police officers was caught flat-out lying, and of course it was Teressa’s lawyer’s fault for doing that to her, for exposing her, for tricking her into lying.…
Interview conducted by Pete Shaw Kelly Baur was one of many people arrested by the Portland police while confronting the white supremacists who held a rally in downtown Portland on June 4, 2017. She had recently returned to Portland after spending time in Chile, arriving here only a few days after white supremacist Jeremy Christian…
Story by Pete Shaw One of the many great works of art to come out of the Civil Rights Movement was the Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas song “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free,” its best-known version performed by the late, great Nina Simone. Its most poignant line, “I wish…
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 by Pete Shaw Wednesday, January 24, 2018 When my mother died about 8 years ago, my Aunt Dorothy, who is also my godmother, came down from The City to New Jersey to provide Comfort and Support for her brother, my father, John. My better 99%, Jessica, is Chinese and was raised a Buddhist. An…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Another day, another fight over a proposed shelter for people without housing. Saturday January 20 saw nearly 75 people gathered near the corner of Southeast Foster and 61st outside the empty storefront that the City has proposed as a haven for about 100 people without housing. Nearly all of…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw In the post-mortem of Donald Trump’s election, I noted how for folks involved in activism, not much was going to change. The hard work of organizing, regardless of who became president, was going to continue. If my memory serves me well, I wrote that under Trump, the primary difference…
Story by Drew Elizarde-Miller and Pete Shaw Over 100 human rights activists and leaders from dozens of cities across the US came together at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Vancouver, Washington, on December 9 to launch a national campaign against President Rodrigo Duterte’s “fascist dictatorship in the Philippines” and form the US chapter of the…
