NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
November 17, 2017 | PAGE 5
...Union drive launches at New Seasons
From Page 1
Since its founding, nonunion
New Seasons has cultivated a
reputation as an ethical business.
New Seasons calls itself a “pro-
gressive employer” that “leads
with its values,” “supports work/
life balance” and encourages a
“speak-up” culture. Breaking
with the rest of the grocery in-
dustry, New Seasons executives
testified in favor of legislation
increasing the minimum wage
and mandating fair scheduling
practices. Its web site says the
company distributes 20 percent
of after-tax profit to employees
through a profit sharing plan.
But some current and former
workers say it’s not the company
it used to be.
New Seasons started with one
store in 2000. Today, according
to a company web site, it em-
ploys more than 3,250 workers
at 18 stores in the Portland
metro area, plus two in Northern
California and one outside Seat-
tle. Two more stores are on the
way in Seattle, and another two
in the Bay Area. It also has a
subsidiary based in Santa Cruz,
New Leaf Community Market,
with six locations.
Only one of the three original
founders remains on the board
“I think that unions are important for
workers in order to have a voice in the
decisions that are being made that af-
fect them.”
— Vesta McGee,
cashier at the Slabtown New Seasons
“When we speak up together, we have
the power to effect the changes we
want to see. We want the company to sit
down with us. We want to be part of the
decision making process.”
— David Adams, cook at the Seven Corners store
of New Seasons, which is now
majority-owned by Endeavor
Capital, a Portland-based pri-
vate equity firm that began in-
vesting in the company in 2009.
Workers at the union launch
event said with the company so
focused on growth, customer
experience and employee work-
ing conditions are slipping. In
particular, members of the
fledgling New Seasons Workers
United spoke up against New
Seasons’ decision, announced in
October, to increase the number
of hours Portland area part-time
workers must work each week
to qualify for employer-spon-
sored health insurance, from 20
to 24. Workers said that could
result in nearly 150 workers los-
ing access to health insurance.
Though 24 hours a week might
still be a generous threshold,
workers had no say in the
change, and it raises questions
about New Seasons’ claim that
it puts people and profits on
equal footing.
Will New Seasons’ CEO
meet with New Seasons Work-
ers United? Will the company
agree to neutrality?
New Seasons, through public
relations firm Maxwell PR, de-
clined to answer those or any
other questions from the Labor
Press, or make any company
representative available for
questions. But the company did
say, in an emailed statement:
“We place as much value on
taking care of our staff, commu-
nities and environment as we do
in growing a sustainable and
profitable business, which is
validated by our independent,
third-party B Corp certifica-
tion.” That phrase is lifted di-
rectly out of half a dozen press
releases that accompanied store
openings in California and
Washington.
New Seasons has placed
great emphasis on its “B Corp”
certification, but few people
know what that is. B Corp is a
trademarked label offered by a
nonprofit called B Lab. For an
annual fee, B Lab certifies that
a company meets high standards
of social and environmental per-
formance — based on company
answers to an online question-
naire. B Corp shouldn’t be con-
fused with “benefit company,” a
legal status conferred by Oregon
and other states on companies
that “consider their impact on
society and the environment in
their business decision-mak-
ing.” That status is meant to
shield corporate directors from
legal liability if they take actions
based on factors besides share-
holder value. Nearly 1,300 Ore-
gon corporations are currently
listed as benefit companies.
New Seasons isn’t one of them.
New Seasons’ emailed PR
statement also notes that the
company was named one of the
100 Best Companies to Work
For by Oregon Business maga-
zine. That ranking is based on
an online survey, administered
by the magazine, that must be
filled out anonymously by at
least 10 percent of a company’s
workers to be valid. It’s true:
New Seasons was ranked Num-
ber 17. That was in 2011. But
New Seasons participated in the
survey again in 2012, and failed
to make the top 100 list. It hasn’t
taken part in the survey since.
New Seasons Workers United
asked the company to respond
within three weeks, by Nov. 21.
Two weeks have passed since
then, and they’ve received no
official reply.
UNIONIZED GROCERY STORES
THE NONUNION COMPETITION
FRED MEYER
SAFEWAY
ALBERTSONS
QFC
FOOD FRONT
WALMART
WHOLE FOODS
GROCERY OUTLET
ZUPAN’S
WINCO
GARTNER’S COUNTRY MEATS
BALES MARKETPLACE (Cedar Mill
and Farmington stores)
ST. HELENS MARKET FRESH
NAP’S THRIFTWAY (Newberg)
...Big election night for Washington labor
From Page 1
gan Irwin defeated Democrat
Nate Lowry in District 31. In
House District 7, Republican
Jacquelin Maycumber defeated
labor-endorsed Susan Swanson.
Meanwhile, union member
Teresa Mosqueda, who is the Po-
litical and Strategic Campaign
Director of the WSLC, outpolled
Jon Grant 61.5 percent to 35 per-
cent to win a seat on the Seattle
City Council. Mosqueda is a
member of Office and Profes-
sional Employees Local 8, and a
graduate of the labor-backed Path
to Power program that trains
union members to run for politi-
cal office.
In addition to Mosqueda, 10
other union members were
elected to local government bod-
ies throughout Washington.
They included: Larry Brown,
Machinists, Auburn City Coun-
cil; Matthew Hepner, IBEW,
East Wenatchee City Council;
Clint Bryson, IBEW, Montesano
City Council; Karl de Jong,
IATSE and the International
Union of Painters and Allied
Trades, Sedro-Woolley Council;
Anne Backstrom, Teamsters,
Silver Lake Water & Sewer Dis-
trict Commission; Chris Roberts,
United Auto Workers, Shoreline
City Council; Chris Beale,
United Food and Commercial
Workers, Tacoma City Council;
Zak Idan Tukwila Education As-
sociation, Tukwila City Council;
Anna Trenouth, International
Association of Fire Fighters,
Whatcom Fire Commission; and
Clark Gilman, Carpenters Local
129, Olympia City Council.
The Southwest Washington
Central Labor Council helped
elect Anne McEnerny-Ogle as
the first woman mayor of Van-
couver. The labor council also
successfully backed Alisha Top-
per for Vancouver City Council;
Wendy Smith for Vancouver
School Director, Position 3; and
John Spencer for Port of Camas-
Washougal commissioner, Dis-
trict 1. The labor council fell
short in three races, including
Kris Greene for Port of Vancou-
ver commissioner; Megan Miles
for Evergreen School Board;
and Damion Jiles for Ridgefield
School Board.
MARKET OF CHOICE
CASH & CARRY
COSTCO
UWAJIMAYA
TRADER JOE’S
UNIONIZATION ] SEP-OCT 2017
The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers have decided
whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will be union-
represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. “Decert” means a decertification
election, where union-represented workers voted whether to remain union. The information
comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board.
Union election results
Employer (Location) Union
Yes-No
Dyno Nobel (Deer Island) Assn. of Western Pulp and Paper Workers 8-1
^
■ 9 shipping department employees at a Dyno Nobel fertilizer plant
Precision Castparts (Portland) Machinists District Lodge W24
54-38 ^
■ 100 rework welders and rework specialists at facilities in Portland, Clackamas, and Milwaukie
Dakavia nursing homes (Tigard & Portland) SEIU Local 503
DECERT
36-10 ^
■ 61 CNAs, cooks, and other support staff at Fernhill Estates and Pacific Health and Rehabilitation
Unionization by majority signup
Employer (Location) Union
Lane County (Eugene) Oregon AFSCME
■ 9 primary care doctors