Always Bargain Collectively: Portland preschool teachers and the ABC’s of worker power

Workers everywhere are coming together to form unions. From Amazon to Starbucks workers, the news is full of newly minted unions, sometimes working with traditional unions and sometimes striking out on their own to form something new. Most of these workers are new to the labor movement, and all are fed up with the poor wages, poor conditions, poor benefits, understaffing, and general disrespect on the job. But we don’t have to look far to see similar revolutions happening. It’s happening here in our union. In Portland, Oregon, the preschool teachers are rising.

In private preschools, there are few unionized centers. The industry is dominated by a hodgepodge of single location centers, many times micro, in-home facilities employing only three to four workers. That trend is punctuated by the occasional multi-center employer and of course the biggest player in the industry, KinderCare. Preschools themselves vary wildly, with some offering specialty education philosophies like Montessori or Reggio Emilia, while others are more daycare-oriented than educational. There are nonprofit and for-profit employers. Some are sole proprietors while others are owned collectively in a parent-owned or worker-owned structure. To complicate the industry further, funding sources also vary from a tuition-based system that families pay monthly (often to the tune of over $1500 per child per month) to grants, donations, endowments, and in some cases, dedicated tax revenue. It’s unsurprising that in a discussion with an organizer from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) about why they have not been active in preschool worker organizing, the candid response was that the efforts “couldn’t scale” given the nature of the industry.

As to the workers themselves and the conditions they work in, preschools are the perfect storm. A vast majority of workers are women or non-binary workers; many are workers of color, and most are well under 30 years old. Add to that the extremely low union density in the industry and the result is unsurprising: exceedingly low pay, woefully inadequate benefits, and working conditions that demand a worker give all – for the sake of the children. The jobs are not sustainable, and something has to give. Usually, workers burn out and leave the field. But in 2019, the workers of Growing Seeds, a “large” employer with four centers and nearly 80 workers, had a different idea. They were going to organize a union.

After some self-education with Labor Notes classes, the workers of Growing Seeds formed their union, the Growing Seeds Workers Union, under the umbrella of ILWU Local 5. They handily won their recognition vote at all four centers. Then the pandemic hit, and they were all laid off. But that didn’t stop them. Since March of 2020, they have continued to push for their union. They have organized, negotiated, filed unfair labor practice charges against employers with the Labor Board, and gone on safety strikes. They have organized rallies and parties and utilized social media to tell their story.

Through those efforts, other workers began to take notice. They saw similar issues at their schools. They faced similar struggles at their jobs. And for the first time, there was a path to try and address those problems and a union that was going to stand with them in support. First, it was the workers of Wild Lilac who are rapidly approaching their first contract. Then a former Powell’s bookseller-turned-teacher at Fruit & Flower got their coworkers involved in the efforts, and they voted to join the ILWU and are just at the beginning of their contract negotiations. And on May 16th, the next group of preschool workers announced their union, the Joyful Noise Childcare Union (including four preschool centers), will be voting to unionize in the coming weeks.All four organizing efforts are under the banner of ILWU Local 5. In total, these efforts now include over 180 preschool workers striving to achieve greater workplace democracy, improved conditions, and ultimately, a union contract at their workplace.

This small explosion of organizing has created more conversations in the field than ever before. Workers from other centers, both in Portland as well as other states, have reached out to the campaigns to find out how they can start their own organizing efforts. Workers are fed up and looking for solutions. As far as solutions, all four campaigns are at various stages of their contract negotiations (or initial vote to unionize). And while no contracts have yet been achieved, the improvements that have been implemented through the bargaining process are impressive. At Growing Seeds, starting wages have increased dramatically. Health care has become more subsidized by the employer, and PTO accrual and access has increased for all workers. At Wild Lilac, the bargaining team just negotiated a several dollars across the board increase for workers. At all centers, workers are empowered to demand more, to call out unsafe and unsustainable conditions, and perhaps most importantly, have found their voice and found support in the cacophony of voices not just in their workplace, but from others in their industry.

Organizing preschool centers in Portland is still in its fledgling years. With hundreds of preschools across the metro area employing thousands of workers, there is still much work to be done. Each organizing effort has brought with it new lessons on best practices in organizing in a preschool setting. Further complications from recently passed legislation relating to preschool funding through local taxes as well as a broad and active coalition of business owners, parents, and community interest groups all have created continuing challenges and an ever-changing environment. However, in the end, the core of preschool worker organizing is the same as any other worker. The jobs need to be sustainable and provide workers with enough pay and benefits to comfortably live. The way we will get there is through organizing in our unions, supporting each other along the way, staying true to our principles, and remembering no matter the industry and no matter how you phrase it, we stick to the basic tenets of our union and maintain working-class solidarity across industries. After all, “An Owie To One Is An Owie To All”.

– Ryan Takas
Oregon Area Lead Organizer