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 Hope is the seed that gives rise to justice. On May 12, a sizable crowd of 35 people showed up at the corner of NE 6th and Halsey, where people have been gathering for nearly 14 years now, month by month, to mark the anniversary of Keaton Otis’s murder…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw 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 as someone who makes a lot of lemonade, I am once again,…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The nearly 4,500 members of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) walked out on strike on November 1. Classroom teachers from the district’s 81 schools came together with students, parents, and other supporters in the community to demand the Portland Public Schools (PPS) administration show respect for them and…
Story by Pete Shaw Another year of Covid, and another year spent largely on the sidelines. Still, there is much to be thankful for this year, including the hope that I will sooner than later be back on the streets. After all, for the first Summer in quite a few years, no fascists marched in…
Story by Pete Shaw The faded spray paint on the corner of Northeast 6th and Halsey reads, “We will always remember you.” The “you” most directly refers to Keaton Otis, the young Black man was murdered there by the Portland police on May 12, 2010. Since his death, that corner has on the 12th of…
Story by Pete Shaw The late Joan Didion once wrote, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” While I agree with the general tone of that statement, there are always exceptions to even the most beautiful of rules. When I was a kid, my dad told me many stories. As he was a scientist,…
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…
