Board of Directors and Leadership Unanimously Approve Workers Union
Today we are excited to announce the unionization of the Community Cycling Center(CCC). After a super majority of workers requested voluntary recognition of their chosen union, ILWU Local 5, the Board of Directors and Leadership of the Community Cycling Center took quick and decisive action to recognize the union by a unanimous vote in approval from the Board. The Community Cycling Center is Portland’s ONLY unionized bike repair and maintenance shop. Community Cycling Center is the newest addition to a list of those employers actively supporting their staff’s right to organize and form a union, joining in the same tradition as other Portland based social justice non-profit employers such as Jobs with Justice (represented by CWA), Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, and Neighborhood Partnerships (both represented by ILWU Local 5).
Below are statements from the Workers Organizing Committee of the CCC, CCC leadership, and ILWU Local 5.
“We, the workers of the Community Cycling Center (CCC), are proud to announce that we have unionized and joined ILWU Local 5. In turn, CCC leadership has respected our rights and voluntarily recognized our union. 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 look forward to collaborating with leadership to make the CCC the best it can be: resilient in times of change and steadfast in our mission to serve our community. We are grateful to share values with both the ILWU Local 5 and with leadership at our organization.
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.
We encourage anyone reading this who is curious about unionizing their workplace to reach out to our union, ILWU Local 5. A better world is possible and there is room for everyone in this movement.”
– Workers Organizing Committee of the CCC
“We are grateful to the Community Cycling Center staff for unionizing, because it expands our organization’s toolkit to meet the challenges before us, together. The strength of a union is leveling the power dynamics in a workplace. This 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.”
– Steph Routh, Interim Executive Director, Community Cycling Center
“Local 5 has long embraced the idea that promoting bikes as a sustainable form of transportation is pro-environment and pro-community. From negotiating for bike subsidies in contracts to organizing bike posse events for members to participate, we see bikes help make our cities liveable for all. So too do unions play a pivotal role in making our cities liveable – by ensuring workers have the opportunity to bargain over wages, benefits and working conditions; supporting living wage jobs; and by raising the bar for all workers in our society. We are ecstatic to have the workers of CCC joining ILWU Local 5 and impressed at the swift and decisive action the CCC Board took to support workers in this process.”
– Ryan Van Winkle, ILWU Local 5 President