Stop Union-Busting at Crush Bar - Drop Bullard Law!
Woody Clarke, Crush Bar Owner
We are Portlanders, queer & allied workers, and concerned community members who are proud to express our solidarity with the Crush Bar Workers Collective, a Union representing the workers of an LGBTQ bar in Southeast Portland.
Crush Bar Management has treated the Union with concerning levels of antagonism since the CWBC went public requesting voluntary recognition. Not only did the bosses refuse to recognize - when the request was made with demonstrable overwhelming majority support - they called. the. cops. when workers demanded to be rehired once the bar reopened!
In February 2021 the National Labor Relations Board found that by capriciously laying off vocal Union supporters- to then not rehire them - that Crush Bar Management had broken Federal Labor Law!
Rather than work out a reasonable settlement with the CBWC and commit to a better path moving forward, the Crush Bar Management retained Bullard Law. This is a notorious union-busting law firm whose website boasts of their specialization in “union avoidance” and in the “minimization of union activities."
To be clear, this is not a firm sought out by Management with any respect for workers’ rights, and retaining them betrays the values our community holds dear. Full stop.
The movement that fought back against police oppression at the Stonewall Inn had a vision of a future more hopeful than one where wealthy queer bosses deploy cops and union-busters against a queer workforce. While Unions have organized to advance the rights of queer people, firms like Bullard Law are rooted in a history that served the interests of those who actively oppressed, impoverished, and did everything to keep queer people voiceless and shut out of public life and power.
The Portland Jobs with Justice coalition is disturbed that Crush Bar Management have chosen to waste money retaining a union-buster. We demand that Crush Bar Management drop Bullard Law immediately and commit to beginning negotiations toward a fair settlement in good faith with workers who have been wronged in the CBWC!
Sponsored by
To:
Woody Clarke, Crush Bar Owner
From:
[Your Name]
We The Undersigned,
Write to you as Portlanders, queer & allied workers, and concerned community members who are proud to express our solidarity with the Crush Bar Workers Collective, a Union representing the workers of an LGBTQ bar in Southeast Portland.
Crush Bar Management has treated the Union with concerning levels of antagonism since the CWBC went public requesting voluntary recognition. Not only did the bosses refuse to recognize - when the request was made with demonstrable overwhelming majority support - they called. the. cops. when workers demanded to be rehired once the bar reopened!
In February 2021 the National Labor Relations Board found that by capriciously laying off vocal Union supporters- to then not rehire them - that Crush Bar Management had broken Federal Labor Law!
Rather than work out a reasonable settlement with the CBWC and commit to a better path moving forward, the Crush Bar Management retained Bullard Law. This is a notorious union-busting law firm whose website boasts of their specialization in “union avoidance” and in the “minimization of union activities."
To be clear, this is not a firm sought out by Management with any respect for workers’ rights, and retaining them betrays the values our community holds dear. Full stop.
The movement that fought back against police oppression at the Stonewall Inn had a vision of a future more hopeful than one where wealthy queer bosses deploy cops and union-busters against a queer workforce. While Unions have organized to advance the rights of queer people, firms like Bullard Law are rooted in a history that served the interests of those who actively oppressed, impoverished, and did everything to keep queer people voiceless and shut out of public life and power.
The Portland Jobs with Justice coalition is disturbed that Crush Bar Management have chosen to waste money retaining a union-buster. We demand that Crush Bar Management drop Bullard Law immediately and commit to beginning negotiations toward a fair settlement in good faith with workers who have been wronged in the CBWC!