Workers at the North Williams Avenue location of PDX Sliders voted 15-1 on Aug. 19 to certify their own independent union. Known as PDX Sliders Union Williams, the union is associated with the Portland-based Coalition of Independent Unions. The newly unionized bargaining unit includes all 19 hourly employees.
The restaurant is one of three locations of PDX Sliders, which began as a food cart in 2014. A slider is a small burger, typically about 3 ounces, served on a 2 to 3 inch bun.
The union campaign began in reaction to a store manager who chronically mistreated employees, especially Hispanic back-of-the-house employees, said Benton Crider, a shift lead. The company has since gotten rid of that manager, Crider said. But workers stuck to their plan of unionizing in hopes they can win improvements like more advance notice of schedules, greater transparency about how tips are divided, and standard union job protections like “just cause” discipline.
After the union campaign got under way, PDX Sliders hired Ogletree Deakins, a massive management-side labor law firm that specializes in “union avoidance.” But the high-priced anti-union boilerplate they produced on workplace fliers landed with a thud.
“We’re still looking to try and cooperate with management,” Crider said, “but they hired these people before we filed, so they are not interested, it feels like.”
Crider said he encourages union supporters to visit the now-unionized restaurant, located at 4232 N. Williams Ave.
