A unit of 11 workers at SCRAP Creative Reuse has unionized with International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 5. SCRAP is a nonprofit in Portland that sells low-cost art supplies and offers arts education. Its board of directors agreed to voluntarily recognize the union at its Nov. 19 meeting. Local 5 has organized half a dozen Portland nonprofits in the past four years.
SCRAP sells donated art and office supplies, including unconventional materials like broken vintage china plates, upholstery samples, and blueprints — diverting materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Cashiers start below $17 per hour and even full-time employees don’t receive health insurance, said SCRAP donations coordinator Riley Lozano. Workers are sometimes concerned about their safety when working evening shifts at the Southwest Portland location, and they want more tools to stay safe while processing heavy donations.
SCRAP opened in Portland in 1999 and has since opened locations in Baltimore, Richmond, and Ann Arbor. The new union only represents workers at the Portland location.
