Teachers, aides, and kitchen workers at three ChildRoots childcare centers in Portland unionized with International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 5 in a 38-12 vote tallied May 8.
The roughly 75 workers at the Northwest, Northeast, and Southeast Portland locations formed one bargaining unit.
Emma Normandy has worked at ChildRoots’ Northwest Portland location for nearly six years and said she loves her job as a teacher in a toddler classroom. She said workers want more transparency from management, consistent policies between the three locations, and higher wages to reduce turnover.
Workers asked ChildRoots for voluntary recognition in March. While workers were waiting for a response, the company asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election.
The ChildRoots workers are joining an early childhood education division of ILWU Local 5, which also represents workers at Wander in Wonder, Joyful Noise, and Wild Lilac.
“It’s part of a movement that’s happening in Portland that isn’t really happening in the same way anywhere else in the country,” ILWU Local 5 organizer Nat Glitsch said.
Starting in September, two of the ChildRoots locations are participating in Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program. Preschools in the program have to provide paid planning time and pay preschool classroom assistants at least $22.27 per hour, which is far above median childcare wages in Oregon.
