WEBVTT - New Seasons Labor Union and the Independent Union Explosion

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's another union episode of VI could happen here

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<v Speaker 1>in the podcast where we do a lot of things,

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<v Speaker 1>but one of which is talking about unions, one of

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<v Speaker 1>which is not doing great intros. It's me and Mia

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<v Speaker 1>Wong and today I'm here to talk about a union

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<v Speaker 1>and a strike and a bunch of other stuff. And

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<v Speaker 1>with me to talk about this is Tyler Fellini, who

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<v Speaker 1>is an organizer with Portland Childs with Justice and also

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<v Speaker 1>a former New Seasons worker. And Alex Gage, who's an

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<v Speaker 1>organizer in store rep for the New Season's labor union

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<v Speaker 1>shop in our Berlage.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Both YouTube, Welcome to the show.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thanks for having us, happy to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'm glad, glad to talk with you too. So

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<v Speaker 1>I guess before we get into the sort of current stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to talk a bit about how how the

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<v Speaker 1>certain New Seasons union was formed and you know what

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<v Speaker 1>that sort of process looked like and how it's been

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<v Speaker 1>going since then.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, I can speak to that.

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<v Speaker 2>So, the initial unionizing efforts started at the store that

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<v Speaker 2>I was working at, Seven Corners, and we actually the

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<v Speaker 2>first conversation we had was April first, the same day

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<v Speaker 2>that Amazon labor union went public and won their electional

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<v Speaker 2>so it was like a really inspiring moment for us.

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<v Speaker 2>That spurred a conversation on the shop floor with a

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<v Speaker 2>couple coworkers, which quickly escalated to six of us meeting

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<v Speaker 2>in a nearby coworkers backyard. We talked about the issues,

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<v Speaker 2>and we were all hitting the same things, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>Like we were all upset with the tenants policy, the

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<v Speaker 2>way that New Seasons was treating us and had been

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<v Speaker 2>treating us during COVID.

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<v Speaker 4>We were also upset with our pay.

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<v Speaker 2>Which is obstein and does not keep up with the

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<v Speaker 2>cost of living in Portland, organ which is a very

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<v Speaker 2>expensive city. So and we were also really upset with

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<v Speaker 2>the healthcare that we have offered and how it's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of deteriorated over the years, especially for New Seasons as

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<v Speaker 2>a company that has a lot of people who've been

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<v Speaker 2>there for years and so there were a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>people who've seen just the downward decline. So those early

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<v Speaker 2>meetings went really well. We talked to coworkers on the

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<v Speaker 2>floor discreetly, and everybody was resonating with what we were saying.

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<v Speaker 2>We made a lot of progress really fast, and then

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<v Speaker 2>we had a meeting at a local bar here in

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<v Speaker 2>Portland Workers Tap, which huge shout out of them. They

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<v Speaker 2>are an amazing space for a lot of burgeoning independent

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<v Speaker 2>unions to have some of their early meetings. So we

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<v Speaker 2>met there with more members at our store, the Seven

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<v Speaker 2>Corners location, and I think we had like thirty people there,

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<v Speaker 2>which is a huge turnout for a first showing of

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<v Speaker 2>a meeting.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>And then from there we moved pretty fast to getting

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<v Speaker 2>cards signed for showing of interest, and so in less

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<v Speaker 2>than two months we were actually filing our petition with

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<v Speaker 2>the NRB, which is unheard of.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's amazing, especially for a grocery store union. That

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<v Speaker 1>is wild.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>As soon as we went public, workers at all these

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<v Speaker 2>other stores reached out to us. Our Instagram blew up.

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<v Speaker 2>People were excited but wanted to figure out how to

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<v Speaker 2>do it at their store. So we were kind of

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<v Speaker 2>simultaneously trying to balance the plates of like keeping our

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<v Speaker 2>store going and also helping other stores go. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>by the end of the summer we rolled into we

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<v Speaker 2>had our election, I want to say in September, and

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<v Speaker 2>by the end of the summer there were multiple stores

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<v Speaker 2>that had gone public and announced and here we are,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, it's barely been a year since our first

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<v Speaker 2>election win.

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<v Speaker 4>It's barely been a year since.

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<v Speaker 2>Then, and we have over nine hundred members, almost one

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<v Speaker 2>thousand members in this very new union.

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<v Speaker 1>That's incredible. That gets into another thing I'm interested about,

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<v Speaker 1>which is Portland's the city that has been in the

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<v Speaker 1>last I mean, I would say probably the last five years,

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<v Speaker 1>but especially in like the last couple of years, it's

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<v Speaker 1>been really really active in terms of in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>union organizing, in terms of sort of especially especially independent unions,

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<v Speaker 1>there's been an enormous number of them. The actual number

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<v Speaker 1>of workers be organized is really high. And yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean you talked about having like having this bar as

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<v Speaker 1>a sort of space you could do meetings. Has there

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<v Speaker 1>been any other stuff, I mean from from other independent unions,

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<v Speaker 1>from other I mean, just from the fact that there's

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<v Speaker 1>so many like things happening that have like changed the

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<v Speaker 1>dynamics of how these union organization thrives have been going.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so early on, you know, we were weighing our

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<v Speaker 2>options as far as like did we want to join

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<v Speaker 2>an existing union or go independent?

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<v Speaker 4>Like what did we want to do there?

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<v Speaker 2>And a lot of that information is hard to find

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<v Speaker 2>if you don't know the language that you're looking for.

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<v Speaker 4>It's not really accessible to the average worker.

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<v Speaker 2>But we found a lot of solidarity in folks who

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<v Speaker 2>had been involved in other independent union efforts. Specifically, we

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<v Speaker 2>met with Mark and Luis at a burgerbelt workers union.

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<v Speaker 2>They offered a top. Yeah, they're great. They were some

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<v Speaker 2>of the early folks to reach out and help us.

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<v Speaker 2>We were also able to talk to some of the

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<v Speaker 2>folks at ILW Local five that represents pals workers and

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<v Speaker 2>many others and get some support there.

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<v Speaker 4>Portland is definitely.

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<v Speaker 2>A labor town, uh, And the solidarity that we felt

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<v Speaker 2>kind of across the board is great, you know, especially

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<v Speaker 2>like early on when we had a lot of questions

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<v Speaker 2>and we didn't have any answers and we didn't have

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<v Speaker 2>many resources to you know, hire a lawyer and ask them.

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<v Speaker 1>So I want I wanted to go back a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit to talk about sort of the influence of the

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<v Speaker 1>sort of influence of the news about the Amazon labor

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<v Speaker 1>union going wide and how that sort of worked. Have

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<v Speaker 1>you seen a sort of similar thing with other like

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<v Speaker 1>not just sort of not not just New Seasons shops,

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<v Speaker 1>but have you seen other shops that sort of like

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<v Speaker 1>decided to start organizing after y'all came out.

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<v Speaker 2>I think think that there is a general energy among

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<v Speaker 2>the rank and file, right that some of the old

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<v Speaker 2>ways that unions are organizing, we're not the most representative

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<v Speaker 2>of the workers, which is in part you know, the eighties, right,

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<v Speaker 2>and so kind of why we've seen sort of union

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<v Speaker 2>representation stagnant. But we're seeing a major shift, right. We've

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<v Speaker 2>got a lot of educated workers doing low wage jobs,

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<v Speaker 2>which that condition existed in the nineteen thirties and led

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<v Speaker 2>to a major explosion in militant unions. So I think

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<v Speaker 2>there's a major parallel there. And it's not just Amazon

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<v Speaker 2>labor unions. Also, you know the Starbucks Workers United, that

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<v Speaker 2>campaign was huge, right, and those are workers who service workers,

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<v Speaker 2>restaurant workers historically have been left out of labor or underrepresented,

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<v Speaker 2>similar to healthcare workers and just care workers generally. And

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<v Speaker 2>that I think is kind of the stereotype of like

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<v Speaker 2>the working class as like a trad white guy in

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<v Speaker 2>a factory, and we're seeing that severely upended right now,

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<v Speaker 2>which is really exciting.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but that's a that's a that's another dynamic I

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<v Speaker 1>think is really is really interesting, particularly in Portland is

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<v Speaker 1>that it seems to be a lot of independent unions.

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<v Speaker 1>And it seems to be I think partially because even

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<v Speaker 1>even in the midst of the fact that like very

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<v Speaker 1>clearly people want to organize, there's been a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>conservatism on the part of the sort of like larger

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<v Speaker 1>distant unions. You don't really want to like throw an

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<v Speaker 1>enormous amount of money into these organizing drives, which means,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if if this stuff is going to happen,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's it's the independent unions. And yeah, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>like I I think I think your point about sort

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<v Speaker 1>of I think your point about the sort of both

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<v Speaker 1>both the highly educated workers thing and the way that

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<v Speaker 1>you know, sort of what's constitutionally considered a worker and

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<v Speaker 1>what unions are willing to sort of throw money at

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<v Speaker 1>are tied together, because Yeah, I mean, you know, like

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<v Speaker 1>the shops that you're working in, the shops are getting

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<v Speaker 1>organized just aren't the kind of thing that anyone's been

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<v Speaker 1>organizing for like ever. It's very at least not since

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<v Speaker 1>like the eighties.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah, and I think it makes sense why they don't organize.

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<v Speaker 3>It's freaking hard.

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<v Speaker 5>It's a lot of work and there's a lot of turnover,

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<v Speaker 5>and you don't see those same faces. That's why we

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<v Speaker 5>can get from having our first meeting to filing for

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<v Speaker 5>election in two months, because if it doesn't happen in

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<v Speaker 5>two months, it's never going to happen.

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<v Speaker 3>And we get it done, we get it done fast,

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<v Speaker 3>and then.

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<v Speaker 5>We see all these other like as a grocery store,

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<v Speaker 5>we get DELIVERI it's from bigger union, you know, drivers

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<v Speaker 5>and such. And we've seen what's happened with their campaigns

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<v Speaker 5>where if they're not like totally invested, they can get

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<v Speaker 5>decertified within a matter of weeks.

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<v Speaker 3>But we haven't had any of that yet.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, which is really impressive. And you know, that's another

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<v Speaker 1>thing I'm interested and I've been asking a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people because turnover is one of the big things that's

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<v Speaker 1>been sort of you know, it's it's been the wall

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<v Speaker 1>that the existing units hit and we're like, this is

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<v Speaker 1>too hard, We're going to go do something else. And

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<v Speaker 1>I've been I'm wondering how y'all have been dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>the turnover problem because it's i mean, it is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>something that's difficult to deal with, but you know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's not something that makes it impossible. It's just hard.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm yeah, I'm interested in what your sort of

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<v Speaker 1>strategies to manage it have been.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's a matter of passion.

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<v Speaker 5>I think Tyler is a great example, like is no

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<v Speaker 5>longer a member, but sees this as like the way

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<v Speaker 5>that we can move our society forward in general, Like

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<v Speaker 5>the labor struggle is the struggle, Like there's no war

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<v Speaker 5>black class war. If we don't do this, what are

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<v Speaker 5>we doing here? So wait, we stick around and we're

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<v Speaker 5>doing this for free. We're not getting paid for it.

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<v Speaker 3>We're doing it because it's the right thing to do.

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<v Speaker 2>When our lodge in Grant Park had their walkouts on

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<v Speaker 2>Labor Day weekend, there was a customer at Grant Park

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<v Speaker 2>who called out to us that, you know, we should

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<v Speaker 2>just go open up our own workers co op. And

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<v Speaker 2>my response to him was that, you know, if we leave,

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<v Speaker 2>there's just another batch of workers that are going to

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<v Speaker 2>go through these conditions. Like the goal is not that,

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<v Speaker 2>Like I wanted to be great for me, like I

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<v Speaker 2>don't even work in new Seasons anymore. I wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>be great for my former co workers who are still there,

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<v Speaker 2>and for the people that I don't know who are

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<v Speaker 2>going to come behind them. And that's that's how you

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<v Speaker 2>get around the high turnover. Pieces like the passion and

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<v Speaker 2>dedication and the drive to make conditions better for the

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<v Speaker 2>people coming after you, which is really antagonistic to the

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<v Speaker 2>way capitalism wants us to be very individual like oriented, right,

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<v Speaker 2>like we just care about ourselves and our day to day.

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<v Speaker 2>But that's the really great thing with like the worker power,

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<v Speaker 2>right is that you know, collectively we are so much stronger.

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<v Speaker 2>Collectively we can actually stand up to the boss and win, right,

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<v Speaker 2>And and that means just reorienting how we think about

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<v Speaker 2>the world, right, Like, like this job sucks. How can

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<v Speaker 2>I make this job better? I can just quit and

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<v Speaker 2>go get a better job. But if I change this job,

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<v Speaker 2>then the people who are still here also get better

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<v Speaker 2>working conditions.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I think that there's kind of there's a

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<v Speaker 1>there's a kind of flip side of that too, right,

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<v Speaker 1>which is that you know, even if you like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like turnover just is inevitable to some extent, even even

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<v Speaker 1>if you have people who like want to stay and fight,

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<v Speaker 1>right like, people are just going to have to leave.

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<v Speaker 1>But on the other hand, you know, if you're if

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<v Speaker 1>you're if you're in a unionized workplace, and if you're

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<v Speaker 1>pecifically if you're if you're if you're in a union

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<v Speaker 1>that has the sort of militant culture, what you're doing

0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.080
<v Speaker 1>is you're you know, you're changing the actual like class itself,

0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:40.000
<v Speaker 1>right because you know, like now now you're a worker

0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:41.240
<v Speaker 1>who like you know, I don't know, is moving to

0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.640
<v Speaker 1>Arizona or something. Right, they are, they are. They are

0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:47.000
<v Speaker 1>now also much more militant and have have this sort

0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.760
<v Speaker 1>of experience of organizing that they may that they may

0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.440
<v Speaker 1>not have had before. And this, you know, it's like

0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:57.280
<v Speaker 1>you're the any any any individual movement you're doing in

0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.360
<v Speaker 1>one place is building up the entire class.

0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.240
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, and we can see that we've like been attracting

0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.480
<v Speaker 5>people who are interested and becoming involved in a movement.

0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:13.360
<v Speaker 5>And you know, whether they just graduated from college or

0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:17.880
<v Speaker 5>they had some sort of distant relative who was in

0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.560
<v Speaker 5>a union, they come to new seasons thinking, oh, I

0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:22.400
<v Speaker 5>want to get.

0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:23.800
<v Speaker 3>In on the beginning of this.

0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.719
<v Speaker 5>And we've seen like a big push of that recently,

0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.800
<v Speaker 5>and people who leave they want to go, you know,

0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.319
<v Speaker 5>organize their next workplace. You know, regardless if they were

0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.120
<v Speaker 5>fired or whatever. They they want to keep it going.

0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:41.800
<v Speaker 4>So and I think to build on that too.

0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.720
<v Speaker 2>You know, salting is a practice that traditional unions typically

0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.480
<v Speaker 2>do to kind of change a workforce. And when you salt,

0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:51.760
<v Speaker 2>usually you're paid by the union to go in there.

0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:53.320
<v Speaker 2>And so you're getting paid by the employer to be

0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.640
<v Speaker 2>there and the union is paying you to organize. But

0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.720
<v Speaker 2>we've seen a shift now where people are voluntarily salting. Right,

0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:00.520
<v Speaker 2>people come like out that they get a job. They

0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.839
<v Speaker 2>don't need the money motivator. They just want to function

0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.160
<v Speaker 2>up right, They want to change things and like be

0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.880
<v Speaker 2>antagonistic towards the boss. And I think to me to

0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:10.440
<v Speaker 2>go back to an earlier thing you asked about, like

0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.800
<v Speaker 2>kind of like why Portland, right, Like, I think one

0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:16.200
<v Speaker 2>thing about Portland is people in Portland love a protest, right, Like,

0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:18.480
<v Speaker 2>we don't need much of a motivation to go through.

0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:20.040
<v Speaker 4>Some rocks at popped, right. That's kind of in the

0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:20.960
<v Speaker 4>culture of Portland.

0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:25.240
<v Speaker 2>And so there is this this orientation towards struggle that

0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.199
<v Speaker 2>does exist. And right now, that energy, you know, we

0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:32.000
<v Speaker 2>went through the George Floyd uprising and a lot of

0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.240
<v Speaker 2>energy has been funneled into labor and it's been new

0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.840
<v Speaker 2>voices in labor. It's not the same like you know,

0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:40.480
<v Speaker 2>ten people now kind of talking. It's all of this

0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:45.120
<v Speaker 2>new energy. And for the most part, most of Portland

0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:47.520
<v Speaker 2>labor is being very accommodating and making room for those

0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:49.760
<v Speaker 2>people to get in there and be heard because folks

0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.200
<v Speaker 2>recognize that they're on their way out right, you know,

0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.720
<v Speaker 2>Folks in their fifties or sixties, like they're towards retirement, right,

0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.720
<v Speaker 2>And so it's as younger folks coming in that are

0:13:57.720 --> 0:13:58.560
<v Speaker 2>going to change it, you know.

0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I think there's an interesting dynamic with this too,

0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:06.520
<v Speaker 1>which is that, you know, okay, one of the one

0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:10.480
<v Speaker 1>of the sort of conditions of the last sort of

0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.240
<v Speaker 1>like forty fifty years of capitalism, Like is is this

0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:16.000
<v Speaker 1>sort of high total turnover rates? And also is this

0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:19.560
<v Speaker 1>you know, is this thing where you are, like you

0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.520
<v Speaker 1>as an individual worker are shifting jobs really really quickly,

0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.600
<v Speaker 1>and that you know, that's in some sense an issue.

0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:28.200
<v Speaker 1>But that also means that like I don't know, like

0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.760
<v Speaker 1>if if you have a bunch of people who you know,

0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 1>spent like spent one hundred days fighting the Feds and

0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.120
<v Speaker 1>you know still still may like have have developed just

0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.360
<v Speaker 1>like the sort of miilited hatred of the cops. And

0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.680
<v Speaker 1>you know, I've developed sort of and into capitalist politics. Yeah,

0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 1>you get more of the sort of salt stuff you're

0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.760
<v Speaker 1>talking about, because like you know, SCRIWT, Like, you know,

0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:51.960
<v Speaker 1>if you're gonna be working like a ship job anyways,

0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.240
<v Speaker 1>you might as well like go work one where you're

0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:56.720
<v Speaker 1>saulting and starting a union, because there's not actually like

0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:58.720
<v Speaker 1>I don't know, it's not it's not it's not like

0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.240
<v Speaker 1>you're like getting career advancement in the service job, right,

0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.120
<v Speaker 1>And yeah, I mean that seems to be driving like

0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:10.960
<v Speaker 1>at least some of the sort of of how this

0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.240
<v Speaker 1>kind of like how the independent United Union organizing in

0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:15.160
<v Speaker 1>Portland's been moving.

0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:17.040
<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.400
<v Speaker 5>I think I'd also like to point out though that

0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:25.360
<v Speaker 5>like a lot of people for our union, specifically, New

0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 5>Seasons has always been like the progressive business and it's

0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:35.600
<v Speaker 5>always had a reputation of like being a great place

0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:36.240
<v Speaker 5>to work.

0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.080
<v Speaker 3>They're really inclusive or whatever.

0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:45.240
<v Speaker 5>So that's what attracts like a certain crowd of people.

0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.880
<v Speaker 5>And when they get there and they realize that, like

0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:50.880
<v Speaker 5>they're getting screwed over, just like any other place that

0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:56.480
<v Speaker 5>they've ever been at that like fosters this new feeling

0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.600
<v Speaker 5>of like, well, I'm vulnerable no matter what I do,

0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:05.040
<v Speaker 5>Like there's no where I can turn to trust my employer,

0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.360
<v Speaker 5>and how do I preserve what little.

0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 3>Dignity that I do have at this workplace?

0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:16.880
<v Speaker 5>Because generally speaking, like our jobs are pretty okay minus

0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:21.400
<v Speaker 5>like the corporate business side of things, Like most people

0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.720
<v Speaker 5>enjoy going to work, maybe, but.

0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:29.800
<v Speaker 3>They they want to enjoy going to work.

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:34.760
<v Speaker 5>So having that like kind of double edged sword has

0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:37.080
<v Speaker 5>been a catalyst for us.

0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:39.040
<v Speaker 4>Just built on what Alex said too.

0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.120
<v Speaker 2>I think it's really interesting that a lot of the

0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.320
<v Speaker 2>surge in new like independent union stuff has been you know,

0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:50.920
<v Speaker 2>new seasoned Starbucks to a degree, ARII creator Joe's all

0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.520
<v Speaker 2>these places, these progressive workplaces, right, And what's happened is

0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.960
<v Speaker 2>that so often we've had interactions with customers where they go, wow,

0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:01.200
<v Speaker 2>I assumed that the prices were so high because your

0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:04.840
<v Speaker 2>wages were high, And really, dude, most of us can't

0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:06.480
<v Speaker 2>afford to live in the city, right, most of us

0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:11.560
<v Speaker 2>are using yeah, and it's just not it's not true, right,

0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.600
<v Speaker 2>And so you know it's workers who get jobs at

0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.600
<v Speaker 2>these progressive places that drank the similar social kool aid

0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.040
<v Speaker 2>that the customer's drink of assuming that these businesses have

0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.960
<v Speaker 2>good business practices and what's happening is that they're just

0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:25.800
<v Speaker 2>getting greedy. Right, This is the case everywhere. It just

0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:27.920
<v Speaker 2>hits a little bit different when your employer pretends your

0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:29.880
<v Speaker 2>friends and then stabs you in the back.

0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Not all workplaces have this kind of like oh,

0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:37.120
<v Speaker 1>we're like progressive sort of vibes thing. But I feel

0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.960
<v Speaker 1>like businesses that have that reputation are also more just

0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:43.479
<v Speaker 1>more vulnerable. It's not just that like their workers like

0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:45.840
<v Speaker 1>realize how ypocritical it is. It means that they're It

0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:48.480
<v Speaker 1>means that they're more vulnerable to sort of like damage

0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.480
<v Speaker 1>to their reputation when people find out that, like oh

0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:55.160
<v Speaker 1>my god, hold time, you're making how much money? Like yeah,

0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.600
<v Speaker 1>and I think, yeah, I don't know, I'm interested, like

0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:00.359
<v Speaker 1>how how effective has that been for you? Sort of

0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:01.080
<v Speaker 1>like leveraging that.

0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:04.639
<v Speaker 2>I think it's been really effective, I mean, you know,

0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.159
<v Speaker 2>and not just does. I think a really good example

0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:09.320
<v Speaker 2>of exactly what we're talking about, right, is the shareholders

0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.639
<v Speaker 2>of Starbucks are holding Howard Schultz accountable because he is

0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:16.280
<v Speaker 2>wrecking that company. Right, and so with new seasons what

0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.360
<v Speaker 2>it means is that they play a very sneaky game.

0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.520
<v Speaker 2>They fight us in the back room. They make sure

0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.000
<v Speaker 2>it's not public facing. Anything we can do to attack

0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:26.480
<v Speaker 2>their public image, like it hurts. I will say too

0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:28.400
<v Speaker 2>that you know, we're kind of standing on the shoulders

0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.560
<v Speaker 2>of Burgerville Workers Union here where Burgerville was built on

0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:34.600
<v Speaker 2>this reputation of like local friendly, like we're the alternative

0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:40.439
<v Speaker 2>to like corporate fast food, and they had security guards

0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.000
<v Speaker 2>and strike busters literally fighting with picketers in the past

0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.680
<v Speaker 2>and it tanked the reputation. And so New Seasons management

0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:49.520
<v Speaker 2>has clearly looked at what Burgerville management did and been like,

0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:51.600
<v Speaker 2>we're not going to do that. It doesn't stop them

0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.080
<v Speaker 2>from being phitty. They're just they're more polite when they're

0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:56.239
<v Speaker 2>streitty to us. They're still just as shitty. They're just

0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:58.320
<v Speaker 2>they smile while they stab us in the back.

0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:11.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So on the subject just of stabbing us in

0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:14.000
<v Speaker 1>the back. So there's been a bunch of stuff going

0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:15.919
<v Speaker 1>on recently. I was wondering if you could talk about

0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:20.920
<v Speaker 1>like the I don't know, the recent unrest. Question Mark

0:19:21.320 --> 0:19:23.120
<v Speaker 1>need to figure out a better way to phrase this, but.

0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:26.840
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, we've been building up we have,

0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.080
<v Speaker 5>I mean since day one of bargaining, which started back

0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:32.879
<v Speaker 5>in like December or January.

0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:35.640
<v Speaker 4>It started in January.

0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:42.639
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so we we've known that eventually it's going to

0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:44.520
<v Speaker 5>get to a point where we're going to need to.

0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:45.600
<v Speaker 3>Show some force.

0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.960
<v Speaker 5>So, you know, we go in there with good faith,

0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:55.040
<v Speaker 5>and little by little we find out that the smallest

0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:59.160
<v Speaker 5>ask is going to be impossible, and we find out

0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:01.800
<v Speaker 5>that they're going to do whatever they can get away

0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:07.159
<v Speaker 5>with every time they can. So they started with I mean,

0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:10.679
<v Speaker 5>they did all kinds of things, but the one catalyst

0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:17.040
<v Speaker 5>is they changed the attendance policy for non union workers

0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:23.639
<v Speaker 5>and non union stores to make it more lenient, which

0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:27.399
<v Speaker 5>was one of the issues that we campaigned on was

0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:31.119
<v Speaker 5>the attendance policy because it's ridiculous and people get fired

0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:37.000
<v Speaker 5>all the time. So we demanded the bargain. They didn't

0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:37.919
<v Speaker 5>have a response.

0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:41.520
<v Speaker 3>We brought it up in bargaining at the bargaining table.

0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:47.159
<v Speaker 5>They said that they would work on something that we

0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:51.399
<v Speaker 5>could implement before we ratify the contract.

0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:53.680
<v Speaker 3>But they had to put it through their DEI lens

0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:56.960
<v Speaker 3>and they had to Yeah.

0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:01.240
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, and you know all the things that say to

0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:04.640
<v Speaker 5>delay it and kick the can down the road. So

0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:10.000
<v Speaker 5>we're Dylan good faith saying like, okay, you know, go ahead.

0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:11.320
<v Speaker 3>So then we did.

0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:17.200
<v Speaker 5>A petition where all the stores individually had people sign

0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:21.080
<v Speaker 5>a petition. We got hundreds of signatures, and then we

0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.960
<v Speaker 5>did a march on the boss asking them to sign

0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:30.040
<v Speaker 5>this MoU that a memorandum of understanding saying you will

0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:35.520
<v Speaker 5>give us that same policy. We filed a ULP saying

0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:41.600
<v Speaker 5>like this is illegal, it's obvious discrimination, and then they

0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:45.000
<v Speaker 5>just kept saying, Okay, we're working on it, We're working

0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:46.119
<v Speaker 5>on it, We're working on it.

0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:47.440
<v Speaker 3>So they never did.

0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:51.400
<v Speaker 5>Then we did a rally and we showed up at

0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:56.359
<v Speaker 5>the headquarters with I don't know, probably two hundred of

0:21:56.440 --> 0:22:01.640
<v Speaker 5>us Hell yeah, and marched up to the office and

0:22:02.000 --> 0:22:06.000
<v Speaker 5>chanted and made a scene.

0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:07.880
<v Speaker 3>And told them they have one more.

0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:10.680
<v Speaker 5>Chance to sign the m OU. They didn't sign it.

0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:17.000
<v Speaker 5>So then we organized the strikes at the two stores and.

0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.640
<v Speaker 3>Gave them one more chance to sign the MoU. They

0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.520
<v Speaker 3>didn't sign it. We already knew they weren't going to.

0:22:24.760 --> 0:22:28.280
<v Speaker 5>So yeah, we shut down those stores for the rest

0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:32.160
<v Speaker 5>of the day at Grant Park and for one hour

0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:36.240
<v Speaker 5>at ourbor Lodge, and it was powerful.

0:22:36.359 --> 0:22:39.680
<v Speaker 3>We had a lot of support a lot of people

0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:40.240
<v Speaker 3>showed up.

0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.920
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, and to build on that too.

0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:49.159
<v Speaker 2>You know, there's things coming up that we can't talk

0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:52.520
<v Speaker 2>about yet, but I would say that, Alex, do you

0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:54.120
<v Speaker 2>want to talk about the practice picketing?

0:22:54.440 --> 0:22:55.560
<v Speaker 4>I feel like we could talk about that.

0:22:56.280 --> 0:23:00.000
<v Speaker 5>Okay, so we actually can talk about We just filed

0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:04.040
<v Speaker 5>the ULP, yeah, last night for bad faith bargaining.

0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeahs an unfair labor practice.

0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:09.679
<v Speaker 3>Yes, thank you. I get caught up in the jargon.

0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:10.960
<v Speaker 3>So we just.

0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:15.000
<v Speaker 5>Filed that last night for bad faith bargaining yep, because

0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:21.000
<v Speaker 5>they gave us the most ridiculous policy for attendance. It's

0:23:21.080 --> 0:23:25.640
<v Speaker 5>basically regressive bargaining, which is totally unfair.

0:23:26.080 --> 0:23:27.879
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, do you want to explain what that is?

0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:33.160
<v Speaker 2>Basically, the NLRB the National Labor Relations Board. They oversee

0:23:33.359 --> 0:23:36.919
<v Speaker 2>unions and the relationship between unions and employers. They demand

0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:40.600
<v Speaker 2>that both sides come in good faith, basically like, don't

0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:44.399
<v Speaker 2>screw around, don't waste each other's time. The goal is

0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:47.280
<v Speaker 2>to move towards some sort of compromise and an agreement.

0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:52.120
<v Speaker 2>And regressive bargaining is when you backpedal and you offer

0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:54.960
<v Speaker 2>something that is worse than what was offered. The attendance

0:23:55.000 --> 0:23:58.840
<v Speaker 2>policy is in my opinion, definitely worse. It is no better.

0:23:59.240 --> 0:24:02.040
<v Speaker 2>I think Frank takes the shittiest things of the past

0:24:02.080 --> 0:24:05.240
<v Speaker 2>two policies and put them together. So it seems pretty

0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:07.479
<v Speaker 2>clear to us that it's regressive. And then we can

0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:09.720
<v Speaker 2>argue that New Seasons is not acting in good faith.

0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:12.600
<v Speaker 2>They are acting in bad faith, which is illegal according

0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:14.439
<v Speaker 2>to the NRB. And so what we are allowed to

0:24:14.440 --> 0:24:19.000
<v Speaker 2>do is file an unfair labor practice, which basically, you know,

0:24:19.040 --> 0:24:23.720
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't hold a lot of weight materially, however, symbolically

0:24:23.720 --> 0:24:26.960
<v Speaker 2>it looks really bad. And so again going back to

0:24:27.119 --> 0:24:28.560
<v Speaker 2>like Mia what you were saying about kind of like

0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:32.320
<v Speaker 2>their image, right, Like these kind of progressive corporations, they

0:24:32.320 --> 0:24:35.879
<v Speaker 2>don't want to look like the bastards they are, And

0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:38.239
<v Speaker 2>a UOP makes it pretty clear, Hey, this person's being

0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:40.280
<v Speaker 2>a jerk, this company is being a jerk. So the

0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:42.960
<v Speaker 2>more ulps that we get file that, like we win

0:24:43.040 --> 0:24:45.439
<v Speaker 2>on the bigger case, we can paint that New Seasons

0:24:45.520 --> 0:24:47.200
<v Speaker 2>is actually being really unfair to us.

0:24:47.880 --> 0:24:55.159
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so then based on that, we're getting strike ready.

0:24:55.440 --> 0:25:02.399
<v Speaker 5>We're making sure everybody can show up and be ready

0:25:02.440 --> 0:25:07.000
<v Speaker 5>to assert our stance. We're not going to just lay

0:25:07.040 --> 0:25:11.639
<v Speaker 5>back and let them take over. So we're going to

0:25:11.680 --> 0:25:15.720
<v Speaker 5>do some practice pickets. Oh and I'm sure even hearing

0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:19.719
<v Speaker 5>that a lot, which is great for I mean, and

0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:22.439
<v Speaker 5>if you want to bring it back to like the

0:25:22.520 --> 0:25:26.600
<v Speaker 5>higher turnover rate and like, you know, the general apathy

0:25:26.840 --> 0:25:31.880
<v Speaker 5>that you see in any union. People are just kind

0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:36.280
<v Speaker 5>of afraid to be active. So we're looking at practice

0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:38.640
<v Speaker 5>pickets as a way to get people.

0:25:38.520 --> 0:25:43.280
<v Speaker 3>Involved in a really low risk activity.

0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:45.200
<v Speaker 1>Can you explain how that works?

0:25:45.480 --> 0:25:47.879
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, So what we're going to do is each store

0:25:48.040 --> 0:25:52.480
<v Speaker 5>will do a picket, but that picket will not be

0:25:52.600 --> 0:25:53.160
<v Speaker 5>a strike.

0:25:53.400 --> 0:25:54.800
<v Speaker 3>That picket will not.

0:25:56.440 --> 0:26:02.359
<v Speaker 5>Encourage shoppers to leave or discourage shopping in any way.

0:26:04.040 --> 0:26:05.800
<v Speaker 3>We're not calling for a boycott.

0:26:05.960 --> 0:26:10.280
<v Speaker 5>We're just simply doing logistically, what does it look like

0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:14.159
<v Speaker 5>if we do a picket at each store in the

0:26:14.200 --> 0:26:18.520
<v Speaker 5>most peaceful way possible, and then we do that at

0:26:18.560 --> 0:26:21.679
<v Speaker 5>every store and we kind of gauge, like, you know,

0:26:21.800 --> 0:26:22.960
<v Speaker 5>how ready are we.

0:26:24.480 --> 0:26:26.920
<v Speaker 4>And by doing that too, it's a show of force

0:26:27.000 --> 0:26:27.600
<v Speaker 4>to the company.

0:26:27.680 --> 0:26:29.720
<v Speaker 1>Right, Yeah, we're not doing anything illegal.

0:26:29.760 --> 0:26:33.439
<v Speaker 2>It's effectively an informational picket. So legally, there's nothing that

0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:35.280
<v Speaker 2>New Seasons can do to any of the workers who

0:26:35.320 --> 0:26:38.000
<v Speaker 2>participate in it. However, they will absolutely see that we

0:26:38.040 --> 0:26:40.840
<v Speaker 2>are prepared to do it. The team Staris recently did

0:26:40.840 --> 0:26:44.760
<v Speaker 2>this for ups. A lot of teachers unions have done

0:26:44.800 --> 0:26:47.159
<v Speaker 2>similar things. It's a really good show of force to

0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:50.120
<v Speaker 2>kind of leverage your people power and show the management

0:26:50.200 --> 0:26:52.200
<v Speaker 2>that you're ready.

0:26:52.359 --> 0:26:55.160
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and it has another It has another effect too,

0:26:55.240 --> 0:27:00.520
<v Speaker 1>which is something that you know, the kind of basic

0:27:00.600 --> 0:27:04.879
<v Speaker 1>cultural understanding of you know, what unions are, how they function,

0:27:05.400 --> 0:27:07.679
<v Speaker 1>what you need to be doing any given scenario, like

0:27:07.800 --> 0:27:10.080
<v Speaker 1>me just physically, how to like do pickets, what you

0:27:10.119 --> 0:27:12.760
<v Speaker 1>logistically need to do. That stuff has all sort of

0:27:12.760 --> 0:27:16.479
<v Speaker 1>faded from like the height of union sort of culture

0:27:16.480 --> 0:27:19.280
<v Speaker 1>in like the sixties and seventies, And that's something that

0:27:19.320 --> 0:27:22.160
<v Speaker 1>you have to rebuild because you know, and and and

0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:24.760
<v Speaker 1>then and this is this is something that's both both

0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:27.680
<v Speaker 1>in terms of the people in the union. That sort

0:27:27.720 --> 0:27:29.879
<v Speaker 1>of knowledge is tuitional knowledge has to be rebuilt, and

0:27:29.880 --> 0:27:32.080
<v Speaker 1>it also has to be rebuilt in the public because

0:27:32.080 --> 0:27:34.919
<v Speaker 1>people sort of just don't you know, like you support

0:27:34.960 --> 0:27:38.359
<v Speaker 1>for unions is really high, uh, but people don't understand

0:27:38.920 --> 0:27:43.000
<v Speaker 1>exactly what like you know, people people don't understand exactly

0:27:43.080 --> 0:27:45.399
<v Speaker 1>what a union is doing any given time or like

0:27:45.440 --> 0:27:48.040
<v Speaker 1>how it functions and things like that, and you know,

0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:49.720
<v Speaker 1>then this is this seems like a really good way

0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:52.880
<v Speaker 1>to like, you know, like, hey, this is a picket.

0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:54.440
<v Speaker 1>This is what happens when there's a picket. This is

0:27:54.440 --> 0:27:57.440
<v Speaker 1>an informational picket. We're gonna give you information. And yes,

0:27:57.880 --> 0:27:59.439
<v Speaker 1>it seems like a good thing for building up that

0:27:59.520 --> 0:28:00.960
<v Speaker 1>kind of true on both ends.

0:28:02.040 --> 0:28:04.959
<v Speaker 2>And it's a really good opportunity to talk to customers,

0:28:05.800 --> 0:28:08.320
<v Speaker 2>get them involved. That's the thing that's that you know

0:28:09.160 --> 0:28:11.840
<v Speaker 2>New Season's kind of tagline as the friendliest store in town,

0:28:12.280 --> 0:28:14.159
<v Speaker 2>and the way that they built that, Yeah, the way that

0:28:14.200 --> 0:28:18.360
<v Speaker 2>they built that reputation though, was by really encouraging workers

0:28:18.359 --> 0:28:22.680
<v Speaker 2>to develop deep relationships with customers. And so we're using

0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:25.400
<v Speaker 2>that to leverage against the company now and saying like hey,

0:28:25.440 --> 0:28:25.920
<v Speaker 2>like you.

0:28:25.800 --> 0:28:27.960
<v Speaker 4>Know you like me, like you know me by name

0:28:27.960 --> 0:28:29.480
<v Speaker 4>and I know you by name. You don't know the

0:28:29.520 --> 0:28:31.560
<v Speaker 4>CEO by name, Like let's talk.

0:28:31.760 --> 0:28:34.120
<v Speaker 2>Let's talk about like what we're asking for and what

0:28:34.160 --> 0:28:36.560
<v Speaker 2>you as a customer can do to support us in

0:28:36.560 --> 0:28:39.400
<v Speaker 2>a way that doesn't feel antagonistic, right like like when

0:28:39.440 --> 0:28:42.160
<v Speaker 2>we had the when we had the walkouts on Labor Day, weekend.

0:28:43.560 --> 0:28:44.640
<v Speaker 4>You know, we did a debrief and.

0:28:44.640 --> 0:28:46.320
<v Speaker 2>We're kind of like, how do we, like, how do

0:28:46.320 --> 0:28:48.440
<v Speaker 2>we engage with people where we can hold onto our

0:28:48.520 --> 0:28:52.840
<v Speaker 2>values and still feel like we're being effective. And Randy,

0:28:53.320 --> 0:28:56.240
<v Speaker 2>a worker at our lodge, his solution, instead of calling

0:28:56.240 --> 0:28:58.520
<v Speaker 2>people who cross the picket line scabs and like you know,

0:28:58.560 --> 0:29:00.640
<v Speaker 2>harassing them that way, you know, he was like, I

0:29:00.720 --> 0:29:03.080
<v Speaker 2>just said, like, hey, I'm disappointed in you, and I

0:29:03.080 --> 0:29:05.560
<v Speaker 2>think that like, like, yeah, like let's just like we're

0:29:05.560 --> 0:29:07.360
<v Speaker 2>gonna just like if you're going to cross the picket line,

0:29:07.360 --> 0:29:08.760
<v Speaker 2>I don't need to hurl insults at you. I'm just

0:29:08.800 --> 0:29:10.960
<v Speaker 2>gonna guilt trip you and let you know that like

0:29:11.040 --> 0:29:13.600
<v Speaker 2>I'm disappointed in you, and like you will feel bad

0:29:13.600 --> 0:29:16.040
<v Speaker 2>as you're shopping. And I think that like that's sort

0:29:16.040 --> 0:29:19.560
<v Speaker 2>of how we can align the progressive values that attracted

0:29:19.600 --> 0:29:21.320
<v Speaker 2>people to New Seasons to work there in the first

0:29:21.320 --> 0:29:24.240
<v Speaker 2>place with how we do actions while still being militant, right,

0:29:24.280 --> 0:29:24.680
<v Speaker 2>we don't.

0:29:24.520 --> 0:29:26.320
<v Speaker 4>Want to be soft. We just got to make sure

0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:29.160
<v Speaker 4>that like it vibes with what we're about, you know.

0:29:31.680 --> 0:29:33.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And and that's that's another you know, I think

0:29:33.920 --> 0:29:35.920
<v Speaker 1>this this also gets back to the sort of culture

0:29:35.960 --> 0:29:38.960
<v Speaker 1>part of it, which is like, yeah, like rebuilding the

0:29:39.080 --> 0:29:41.720
<v Speaker 1>standard of do not cross a picket line is a

0:29:41.760 --> 0:29:44.440
<v Speaker 1>thing that has to be done because that's again that's

0:29:44.480 --> 0:29:47.320
<v Speaker 1>another thing that has sort of faded. And yeah, like

0:29:47.360 --> 0:29:49.480
<v Speaker 1>guilt tripping people is a good way to do it,

0:29:49.560 --> 0:29:54.600
<v Speaker 1>because yeah, you know, like sort of especially especially sort

0:29:54.600 --> 0:29:56.880
<v Speaker 1>of like middle and upper middle class progressive people like

0:29:57.520 --> 0:30:00.000
<v Speaker 1>really really there are a lot of their politics about

0:30:00.040 --> 0:30:03.080
<v Speaker 1>wanting to feel good about themselves and you.

0:30:03.040 --> 0:30:08.600
<v Speaker 6>Know, make they can see Yeah, I think if they

0:30:08.640 --> 0:30:13.719
<v Speaker 6>can see themselves in us too, they will relate and

0:30:13.840 --> 0:30:16.120
<v Speaker 6>they they won't want to.

0:30:17.600 --> 0:30:21.120
<v Speaker 3>Go against their own values, which is our.

0:30:21.120 --> 0:30:25.360
<v Speaker 5>Values, because that's the culture of Portland generally speaking.

0:30:26.360 --> 0:30:28.080
<v Speaker 1>Did you have anything else that you want to make

0:30:28.120 --> 0:30:29.560
<v Speaker 1>sure to get in before we wrap up.

0:30:30.680 --> 0:30:34.800
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, we would love to push our gofund me that

0:30:34.840 --> 0:30:38.280
<v Speaker 5>can be found at our website, which is really hard

0:30:38.280 --> 0:30:44.680
<v Speaker 5>to find is but yeah, you have to type it in,

0:30:44.840 --> 0:30:46.000
<v Speaker 5>you can't just google it.

0:30:46.280 --> 0:30:48.160
<v Speaker 1>Okay, Well we'll put it. We'll just we'll just put

0:30:48.160 --> 0:30:50.800
<v Speaker 1>a link to it in the okay, Yeah.

0:30:51.160 --> 0:30:55.480
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, yeah, if anybody you know, we're out here being

0:30:55.560 --> 0:30:56.400
<v Speaker 5>independent union.

0:30:56.480 --> 0:30:57.400
<v Speaker 3>We have no money.

0:30:58.160 --> 0:31:02.080
<v Speaker 5>We're just looking for maybe some sort of strike fund

0:31:02.240 --> 0:31:06.880
<v Speaker 5>for those in need when we are strike ready, and

0:31:07.440 --> 0:31:11.880
<v Speaker 5>also you know, materials whatever people can donate, it would

0:31:11.880 --> 0:31:12.440
<v Speaker 5>be amazing.

0:31:13.160 --> 0:31:14.800
<v Speaker 2>Final notes I would say too, is that you know

0:31:15.880 --> 0:31:19.200
<v Speaker 2>when we started this, I mean, we're an independent union

0:31:19.240 --> 0:31:20.280
<v Speaker 2>of grocery workers, right.

0:31:20.640 --> 0:31:22.320
<v Speaker 4>We did all of this in our volunteer time.

0:31:22.760 --> 0:31:25.240
<v Speaker 2>None of us are lawyers, none of a lot of

0:31:25.320 --> 0:31:28.000
<v Speaker 2>us had never been in a union before or had

0:31:28.120 --> 0:31:31.280
<v Speaker 2>very limited experience. We build this all from the ground

0:31:31.400 --> 0:31:34.840
<v Speaker 2>up with tons of volunteer hours of our own time

0:31:34.880 --> 0:31:38.440
<v Speaker 2>after work. And we have gone toe to toe with

0:31:38.840 --> 0:31:41.320
<v Speaker 2>Ogle Tree Deacons, who is one of the largest anti

0:31:41.440 --> 0:31:44.080
<v Speaker 2>union law firms in the country. That's who New Seasons

0:31:44.160 --> 0:31:47.880
<v Speaker 2>has retained. We've gone toe to toe with them. We

0:31:47.960 --> 0:31:51.680
<v Speaker 2>have a lawyer now who is really graciously kind of

0:31:51.800 --> 0:31:52.720
<v Speaker 2>letting us write her.

0:31:52.560 --> 0:31:53.920
<v Speaker 4>In IOU for the time being.

0:31:54.680 --> 0:31:57.160
<v Speaker 2>But even before her we were still able to hold

0:31:57.200 --> 0:31:59.959
<v Speaker 2>her own against a major anti union law firm.

0:32:00.240 --> 0:32:00.400
<v Speaker 5>Right.

0:32:00.680 --> 0:32:04.880
<v Speaker 2>There is power in workers coming together collectively. It's not

0:32:06.040 --> 0:32:08.160
<v Speaker 2>as easy as it should be to find that information,

0:32:08.640 --> 0:32:10.959
<v Speaker 2>but it is out there and there are people who

0:32:11.040 --> 0:32:12.760
<v Speaker 2>want to share it. And I would say that, like

0:32:14.200 --> 0:32:16.960
<v Speaker 2>for me, the labor movement has been a really empowering

0:32:17.000 --> 0:32:19.040
<v Speaker 2>place to come into. You know, I have a lot

0:32:19.040 --> 0:32:21.840
<v Speaker 2>of experience with sort of like leftists, like street activism,

0:32:22.800 --> 0:32:25.640
<v Speaker 2>but I think that for anybody who wants to be

0:32:25.640 --> 0:32:28.360
<v Speaker 2>involved in the struggle and is also like looking for

0:32:28.440 --> 0:32:29.160
<v Speaker 2>ways to make.

0:32:29.040 --> 0:32:31.480
<v Speaker 1>In rids and develop community like.

0:32:31.520 --> 0:32:33.600
<v Speaker 2>Labors where it's at right, I mean, we all work

0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:35.320
<v Speaker 2>and to a degree, we all hit our jobs and

0:32:35.320 --> 0:32:37.400
<v Speaker 2>have something to complain about, and like that's a commonality

0:32:37.400 --> 0:32:41.720
<v Speaker 2>that stretches across the aisle and allows for a lot

0:32:41.760 --> 0:32:45.840
<v Speaker 2>of solidarity in a way that the culture war really

0:32:45.920 --> 0:32:49.880
<v Speaker 2>doesn't want and really, like you know, it's by design, right,

0:32:49.880 --> 0:32:53.280
<v Speaker 2>the capitalists want us fighting against each other, and the

0:32:53.360 --> 0:32:55.160
<v Speaker 2>labor movement is a way for the working class to

0:32:55.240 --> 0:32:57.680
<v Speaker 2>unite because it's about class war.

0:32:57.920 --> 0:32:58.160
<v Speaker 4>You know.

0:33:01.120 --> 0:33:08.120
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, here here, yeah, and you know this this should

0:33:08.120 --> 0:33:11.520
<v Speaker 1>go without saying. I'm going to say it anyways, you also,

0:33:11.680 --> 0:33:14.479
<v Speaker 1>listener at home can do this too. There is you know,

0:33:14.600 --> 0:33:17.920
<v Speaker 1>there there is nothing sort of magical or special about

0:33:17.960 --> 0:33:20.040
<v Speaker 1>the people who do union organizing other than the fact

0:33:20.040 --> 0:33:22.720
<v Speaker 1>that they decide to organize a union. So you can

0:33:22.760 --> 0:33:25.200
<v Speaker 1>do this too. You can form an independent union and yeah,

0:33:25.280 --> 0:33:27.720
<v Speaker 1>you can go hand your bosses a fucking ass and

0:33:27.840 --> 0:33:30.080
<v Speaker 1>get better, you know, get better working conditions and get

0:33:30.080 --> 0:33:33.800
<v Speaker 1>better things for you and your entire class in the process.

0:33:34.280 --> 0:33:37.360
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I would say Labor Notes is a great resource

0:33:37.440 --> 0:33:40.880
<v Speaker 2>for early information. The Coalition of Independent Unions is on

0:33:41.000 --> 0:33:43.560
<v Speaker 2>Instagram and workers from around the country have reached out

0:33:43.600 --> 0:33:47.240
<v Speaker 2>to them for advice. You know, we're on Instagram. You

0:33:47.240 --> 0:33:50.600
<v Speaker 2>can ask us questions. Reach out to independent unions and

0:33:50.640 --> 0:33:53.040
<v Speaker 2>ask them questions. This is a labor movement made up

0:33:53.080 --> 0:33:55.840
<v Speaker 2>of the workers for the workers. We want more workers

0:33:55.920 --> 0:33:56.760
<v Speaker 2>to organize.

0:33:57.240 --> 0:33:59.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and I think on that note, Yeah, this is

0:33:59.760 --> 0:34:02.320
<v Speaker 1>this is been naked happen here, Go into the world

0:34:02.320 --> 0:34:02.680
<v Speaker 1>and fight.

0:34:03.360 --> 0:34:05.480
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thank you, thank you so much.

0:34:05.520 --> 0:34:09.440
<v Speaker 2>Maya.

0:34:10.520 --> 0:34:13.040
<v Speaker 3>It could Happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.

0:34:13.120 --> 0:34:15.800
<v Speaker 5>For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website

0:34:15.840 --> 0:34:18.080
<v Speaker 5>cool zonemedia dot com or check us out on the

0:34:18.080 --> 0:34:21.640
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0:34:22.080 --> 0:34:24.200
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0:34:24.280 --> 0:34:27.320
<v Speaker 3>monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources.

0:34:27.480 --> 0:34:28.320
<v Speaker 5>Thanks for listening.