Staff of the nonprofit Community Cycling Center have voted to join a union and the organization’s Board of Directors have voted unanimously to recognize it. Sources say the Board voted in favor of the union less than 48 hours after they received the request.
CCC workers have joined ILWU Local 5 and they are now the first bike shop in Portland to become unionized. ILWU Local 5 also represents workers at Powell’s Books, the Oregon Historical Society, Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, and several other local organizations.
“We, the workers of the Community Cycling Center (CCC), are proud to announce that we have unionized,” reads a statement from the organizing committee.
Here’s more:
“The Community Cycling Center Workers Union is made up of workers in Community Programs, Youth Programs, shop mechanics, and retail staff. As the first union bike shop in Portland, we hope to show what is possible when workers act collectively. We are excited to be taking this historic step for workers in the cycling industry, and honored to join the thousands of non-profit workers unionized across the country. We are looking forward to building a future in which worker solidarity improves working conditions across the bike and non-profit industries. Together, we can create meaningful and positive change from the ground up.”
The CCC’s Interim Executive Director Steph Routh said the move is, “A step forward in building the trusting partnership among all members of our staff and Board, to better show up with and for our communities to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits.”
While the CCC is the first traditional bike shop whose workers have joined a union, the repair and maintenance crew who look after the Biketown bike share system are also unionized. Portland also has a worker-owned shop, Citybikes Co-op.
ILWU Local 5 President Ryan Van Winkle said his group embraces bikes. “From negotiating for bike subsidies in contracts to organizing bike posse events for members to participate, we see bikes help make our cities livable for all.”
The next step in the process is to negotiate a contract.