Workers at Street Roots voted 11-0 to unionize with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901 on Jan. 7.
Staff at the nonprofit alternative newspaper and advocacy organization asked the group’s board on Dec. 2 to voluntarily recognize their union since all 15 members of the proposed union were in support. The board declined on the grounds that two of the 15 were supervisors and thus ineligible to be in the union. The union disputed that the two workers, one of whom is editor-in-chief K. Rambo, have supervisory roles.
To move things along, Street Roots and the union agreed that Rambo could vote in the election, and that ballot would be set aside until the challenge is resolved.
In their letter to the board, the union said members were seeking pay equity, increased staffing, and safety measures.
Two other Oregon news outlets, the Portland Mercury and Oregon Public Broadcasting, agreed to voluntarily recognize unions for their staff in 2024.
