At least five—and probably soon to be more—Portland, Oregon based unions have teamed up this week to form a new union grouping in the Pacific Northwest, the Coalition of Independent Unions (CIU). The CIU was announced to coincide with May Day this year.
What the CIU will look like is still in the works, but what we do know is that it will not involve a merger of the unions under one organization; it aspires more to be a big-tent mutual aid grouping, or a pool of resources for its constituent unions. This quote in KOIN's reporting gives a good idea:
“We are still talking to members about what exactly their needs are from such a coalition, but ultimately it is to provide the needs of workers who are forming independent unions, to whatever degree we can,” Doughnut Workers United said. “Strike pay, legal needs, and many other resources will ideally fall under this umbrella as the coalition continues to grow and adapt to the needs of its members.”
We currently know the names of four of the unions making up the CIU, which are Burgerville Workers Union (representing Burgerville workers), Doughnut Workers Union (representing Voodoo Doughnuts workers); Market of Choice Labor Union (representing workers at the eponymous retailer), and Restaurant Workers of Portland (a general union currently representing Afuri Ramen + Dumpling workers and aspiring to represent more food laborers).
One of these—Burgerville Workers Union—remains an IWW-affiliated union (as far as I'm aware), while Doughnut Workers United began as an IWW-affiliated union but reorganized into non-affiliated independent union. The other two, Market of Choice Labor Union and Restaurant Workers of Portland, have been organized from the beginning as non-affiliated independent unions.
It's unclear what the fifth union is currently—I can't find them naming that union anywhere thus far—but the CIU has stated it is in talks with a number of other unions. One guess for the fifth union might be the New Seasons Labor Union, an independent union which represents eight Portland-area New Seasons Market stores. They were name-checked in KOIN's article and according to Burgerville Workers Union were voting on affiliating with CIU as of Tuesday. Whatever the case, the creation of CIU is a welcome addition to the boom in Oregon labor organization. You can currently keep up with them on Twitter @ CIUnions.
