Founded by Powell’s Books workers in 2000, ILWU Local 5 has grown to include nonprofit workers, veterinary workers, early childhood educators, and more!
📰BIG NEWS📰
We’ve added a 3rd option for supporting our Strike Fund: direct donations! Now, in addition to buying or selling books through our Powell’s Books Partner Link, where 7.5% goes to the Strike Fund, you can donate directly with a card or PayPal!
If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any of the questions.
It’s against the law for your boss to prohibit you from discussing your wages with your coworkers, and also remember there are more workers than there are bosses
Solidarity with
@SBWorkersUnited
, who announced unionization at SIX new locations today, bringing them to a total of *44* unionizing locations since August of last year! FORTY-FOUR, Y’ALL.
The results are in: with 92% approval, the workers at
@Powells
have voted to authorize a strike! What this means, what you can do to help, and what happens next… 🧵
You know what happens when you tell partners to "do their own research"? They do their own research, reach the correct conclusion, and organize to form a union.
Jorts gave us this photo to include in our new member orientations. Hope it’s OK that we also let a worker use it for their Jorts feature in our member newsletter 🐱❤️📰
21 years ago today, Powell’s workers fighting for their first union contract shut the City of Books down. Today, while we fight for our laid-off coworkers to be recalled to their former jobs, we choose to keep it open… (1/3)
It’s so exciting that so many workers are asking about how to form a union where you work! Jean helped me make a thread of basic advice that applies to most workers in the USA
SHAMEFUL. With the threat of a
@ufcw555
strike looming, Fred Meyer is looking to hire temporary associates “willing to cross a picket line.”
We suggest joining the picket line instead! 🪧🪧🪧
Sign up here, and be sure to spread the word!
Every day's a good day to give Jorts little a salami, and to donate to NVPU to help veterinary workers unionize, but on
#NationalPetDay
it's basically mandatory.
Happy
#NationalPetDay
! We hope Jorts gets little a salami, as a treat. We also hope you'll consider a donation to the National Veterinary Professionals Union, a union of veterinary workers organizing for much-needed change in the industry:
If anyone who attended the
#Rally4Animation
got pics of the "heroic corgi ally wearing a cone of solidarity," please share. You will be doing the labor movement a great service.
"The ILWU's long history of social justice activism and solidarity with oppressed people around the world is part of what drew the original organizers of Local 5 to the ILWU in the first place..." Read the full statement from the ILWU Local 5 Executive Board below:
DID YOU KNOW you can support our Strike Fund by buying or selling books online??
Visit and select a Powell’s Books Partner Link to start your journey. 7.5% of the amount you spend or earn will go to the ILWU Local 5 Strike Fund!
📢 Spread the word!
If you haven't made a "Do it for Jortsy" sign 🪧 for tomorrow's May Day activities, there's still time! There's also still time to donate to this fundraiser:
Yesterday I learned about another union cat, Sister Smudge. She was brought on as a mouser at The People's Palace Museum in Glasgow in 1979, and later became a card-carrying member of the General, Municipal and Boilermakers' (GMB) Union!
Powell’s workers braved today’s heat to flyer outside the Hawthorne store & let folks know that the Company *continues to offer a starting wage more than $5 below the living wage for Portland*. If you missed getting a flyer, here’s what you can do to support Powell's workers 🧵
Powell’s bargaining update: Yesterday, the ILWU Local 5 bargaining team (pictured) reached a Tentative Agreement with
@Powells
on an 8th contract! In the coming weeks, Powell’s workers will be reviewing the details & casting their votes, so stay tuned for the results... (1/3)
Happy holidays from the Local 5 archives! Powell’s workers aren’t on strike this holiday season (📷: 2003), but a LOT of workers are. Consider donating to a strike fund to ensure striking workers can make ends meet while they hold the line. We’ll link to a few below... add more!
Plants, pets, & people: workers at Fang! Pet & Garden Supply care for all 3. Today they let their employer, Salty's Dog & Cat Shop, know they're going union (w/ ILWU Local 5!) so they can also care for themselves & their coworkers. We’re psyched to support them on their journey!
We'll have a more thoughtful reflection soon, but we want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to our community, our fellow workers, and our union family for making yesterday's Powell's No Labor Day Strike *one for the books*! 📕✊❤️🪧
Every day is a good day to share this 1999 letter from
@ursulaleguin
to Michael Powell in support of a unionized
@Powells
Books, but today is her birthday, so all the more reason. Happy birthday, Ursula ❤️
Yesterday, Powell's presented their "final offer" at the bargaining table, which STILL includes a base wage more than $5 below the living wage for Portland and healthcare plans that will be unaffordable for most workers under the Company's wage proposal. 1/
8 months into negotiations for a new contract and
@Powells
workers are *still* waiting for the Company to put forward a wage proposal that honors workers’ contributions to the company’s success and enables workers to survive.
We’re heading back to the
@Powells
bargaining table tomorrow, and looking forward to seeing a wage proposal from the Company that meets workers’ needs and honors their contributions to Powell’s success. (🧵)
The results of the Wild Lilac Union vote are in! Please join us in congratulating these workers who voted overwhelmingly (86%!) in favor of unionization! We’re honored they’ve chosen to join Local 5 and we look forward to supporting them as they negotiate a strong first contract!
These are just some of the friendly
@Powells
workers greeting customers outside the City of Books today, asking for community support in our negotiations for a fair contract 📝 1/2
The Trans Day of Solidarity march stopped by the City of Books yesterday to remind
@Powells
that Trans Rights Are Labor Rights & you cannot claim to support your trans workers while also fighting them at the table over a living wage & affordable healthcare. Couldn’t agree more!!
Look at this amazing zine Jean made with her friend Union Pete 🥹 this is the best present ever, it’s so perfect for the first time I celebrate a birthday
The Union is looking into every avenue to hold Powell’s to their contractual obligations as well as the moral imperative to treat workers ethically and not use the pandemic as an opportunity to reduce wages and benefits for longtime employees.
As a union workplace for 23 years, we are our union’s biggest supporter. We deeply value our employees and respect their right to engage in protected union activity, which includes a strike. We understand it can be part of the bargaining process, and we will honor and respect it.
In the meantime, we ask the community to continue your patronage of Powell’s Books. It currently employs around 135 union booksellers — a number we look to increase in the future as business returns to “normal”.
Some companies say they support their union — others show that support in real ways, like voluntary recognition, reasonable proposals at the bargaining table, & a big sign! PDX pals, shop at Fang! & Salty’s — represented by ILWU Local 5 — for all your pet or plant needs! 🐕🪴🐈
Fun fact: when you shop through our Powell's Books partner link, 7.5% of your purchase goes to the ILWU Local 5 Strike Fund, to aid Local 5 members in the event of a strike. How cool is that? (Answer: very cool.)
Thank you for shopping union! 📚✊😊
This action comes nearly a year after the Union and Company had reached mutual agreement, in writing, that the recall list would be maintained without timeline restrictions.
Today we heard
@Powells
latest wage proposal: an across-the-board raise of 50¢ this year + 50¢/year (split into two raises) every year after. Given inflation & increases in rent, food, & other basic necessities, Powell's is proposing wages that are worth less every year. 1/
Pictured: workers at
@Powells
Books on Hawthorne taking advantage of the early fall sunshine to tell customers and passers-by about the insultingly low wages Powell’s corporate bargaining team continues to propose at the table. 🧵
Heads up, PNW shoppers! Over the weekend, warehouse workers at Fred Meyer voted *unanimously* to authorize a strike. Follow
@teamsters117
for updates, and if a picket line should appear at your neighborhood
@Fred_Meyer
, don't cross it 🛑
BREAKING | Upon ratification workers at
@BurgervilleUSA
, unionized with
#IWW
, will become the only fast food workers covered by a Collective Agreement
#1u
Now that
@Powells
workers have authorized the ILWU Local 5 bargaining team to call for a strike if necessary, it’s time to get
#StrikeReady
!
First up: cute picket signs 🪧 🪧 🪧
Thanks to all the workers who showed up to today’s (only slightly rainy) sign-making party!
1/3
"We're so excited that bargaining has started! We were elected in March of last year, so we've spent almost a year really talking to members about what they want in this contract, surveying folks, & working on proposals. The best contracts are built on the voices of workers!" 1/2
Earlier this month, our ILWU Local 10 siblings passed a resolution in solidarity with the people of Palestine and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli apartheid oppression. 🧵 1/3
New
@SBWorkersUnited
shops in NC, NY, TX, and WI! Partners in Knoxville, TN win their union vote, becoming the 1st unionized Starbucks in the South! Another
@HPBWorkersUnite
election around the corner!
@condeunion
makes its debut! EVERYONE GETS A UNION!!
Workers at Growing Seeds Crystal Springs voted to authorize a strike! Workers at Fang! Pet & Garden Supply want to make sure they’re ready for one, if needed. A Strike Fund has been set up to support these workers... Any donation/share is so appreciated!
When workers speak, bosses need to listen & address their grievances. That’s how you keep it out of the streets & not at the doorstep of your business. Solidarity w/ Artifact workers ❤️
Donate to their GoFundMe, which is now ✨AUTHENTIC JORTS MERCH✨:
Workers at Artifact: Creative Recycle in Portland are taking a stand against discrimination & the unjust firing of a coworker. When management became aware of staff discontent, they shut down the store w/o warning. These workers could use some support!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Send an email to community
@ilwulocal5
.com, letting Powell’s leadership know you support a living wage & affordable healthcare for Powell’s workers.
2. Retweet to help us spread the word!
Thank you so much for your support! 2/2
We’re 6 weeks into
@Powells
contract negotiations & still waiting for the Company to deliver a reasonable wage proposal. What do YOU think is a reasonable starting wage for a worker in the Portland metro area? 🤔 Let us know in the replies!
📢 COOL RESOURCE ALERT!
Some of our members started this map of unionized/unionizing bookstores & could use help completing it! Send additions & corrections to UnionBookstoreMap
@gmail
.com. Or just use it for all your book shopping needs! 📚📚📚
Look alive Berkley, California!
Is your love of books & the humans who sell them only second to your love of organized labor? Then there's a
@moesbooksunion
info picket line that needs your presence tomorrow!
Where:
@moesbooks
When: tomorrow Sept 25 @ 2pm
READ ON ⤸
We ❤️ bikes! We ❤️ workers! We ❤️ community! Put it all together and what do you get? Portland's 1st UNION bike shop! The workers at
@CommCyclingCtr
are joining ILWU Local 5, and less than 48 hrs after notifying the Board of Directors, the CCC agreed to voluntary recognition 🎉
Beautiful show of solidarity this morning at the
#NabiscoStrike
. Thanks to:
@JwJpdx
&
@PortlandDSA
for organizing today’s rally; everyone who showed up in support; & most importantly, all the
@BCTGM
members bravely standing up for the contract they deserve!
#NoContractNoSnacks
We said it before, but it bears repeating: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who showed up for the Powell’s Books No Labor Day Strike — the first
@Powells
strike *in 20 years* — and helped infuse our picket lines with joy, defiance, and solidarity. 🧵 1/
The latest in bookstore cart and bike rack accessorizing: Recall Powell’s stickers! If you spot one in the wild, snap a pic and share it with the hashtag
#RecallPowells
Earlier today, the ILWU Local 5 bargaining team notified Powell’s of their intent to begin negotiations for the next contract (the current contract expires 3/31). This will be the 8th agreement between Local 5 and Powell’s Books since Powell’s workers first unionized in 2000. 🧵
Did it hurt? When you turned your back on your workers?
More than 130 Powell’s booksellers laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be recalled to work. THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO COMPETE WITH THE PUBLIC FOR THEIR FORMER JOBS.
Want to help
@Powells
workers get strike-ready? Swing by
@WorkersTap
on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 5pm-12am, and 10% of your purchase will go to the ILWU Local 5 Strike Fund to support Powell's workers, who will be going on strike for the first time in *20 years* on Monday, September 4!
“The most important word in the language of the working class is solidarity.” - Harry Bridges, founding president of the
#ILWU
❤️ this so much,
@SBWorkersUnited
.
Last night’s Drinking for Miners fundraiser / Joyful Childcare Workers Union victory party was SUCH A BLAST! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate newly unionized preschool workers here in Portland & raise money for striking
@MineWorkers
clear across the country! (1/2)
❤️🍻 WHAT A NIGHT. Thank you so much to
@WorkersTap
for hosting our Strike Fundraiser last night, and to all the community members who showed up, kept the bartenders *very busy* (thank you, bartenders!!), and helped us raise money for our Strike Fund! 1/
I tweeted that
@amazonlabor
is pushing for $30/hr, and someone said a job where you don't need a GED shouldn't make that much.
How does that make sense? You don't need a GED to be a millionaire business owner, so why shouldn't people working their asses off make $30/hr in NYC?
Let’s hear it for the ILWU Local 5 Bargaining Team who, after just TWO DAYS of bargaining, reached a tentative agreement on a 5-year contract with Aramark at the Evergreen State College! 🤘
You can also help by letting Powell's leadership know that workers have the support of their community. More than 5,000 people have signed our petition demanding a fair contract with a living wage & access to affordable healthcare. Add your name:
Exciting news! Yesterday, workers at the Fruit & Flower Child Development Center (PCC Rock Creek) went public w/ their union campaign & requested voluntary recognition. We're so honored these workers have chosen to join ILWU Local 5! Please join us in wishing them a warm welcome!
Support striking workers from Growing Seeds Crystal Springs! This Thursday, 6:30-9pm at
@WorkersTap
(101 SE 12th Ave), 20% of drink sales will be donated to the Strike Fund.
EXTRA CREDIT: join the picket from 4:30-6pm at Crystal Springs (2808 SE Steele St) beforehand!