Tag: tactics

The Impossible Took 68 Months

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…

Burgerville Workers Union and Allies Stage Unfair Labor Practice Strike as Management Skirts Federal Labor Law

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…

Portland Anti-fascist Movement Continues to Build Solidarity Despite Predictable Violent Response from Local Government

Story by Pete Shaw On Saturday August 4, Portland’s anti-fascist community held its Stop the Hate rally, bringing together a wide swathe of Portlanders and people from the metropolitan area opposed to white supremacy. The event, organized by the group Popular Mobilization (POPMOB), was called in response to the white supremacist organization Patriot Prayer’s rally…

Bring Them Along

  Story by Pete Shaw When considering how to spend a Friday night, particularly a sultry one in late July, likely not high on most folks’ list is attending a talk on Pan-African organizing. But even if my Friend Ahjamu Umi of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) was not the featured speaker, the title…

Effective Strategies Necessary to Defuse Right Wing Hate

Story and photos by Bette Lee Patriot Prayer can’t seem to get enough of Portland.  Even though the Vancouver, Washington white supremacist group led by Joey Gibson claims it hates Portland because it is a “liberal” city which coddles “pinkos, anarchists, leftists, liberals, homosexuals,” and other unsavory “anti-American” groups, its members seem hell-bent on holding…

Burgerville Workers Union Becomes First Formally Recognized US Fast Food Union; Boycott to Continue Until Fair Contract is Signed

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…

Undocumented, Unafraid, and Still Standing

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…