Michael Powell and his 400 union employees say they are near a deal on pay, usually the stumbling block in labor disputes.
But other difficult issues await resolution before the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5 and the management of Powell’s Books forge a contract.
The two parties remain divided over whether eligible employees automatically will become dues-paying ILWU members, the hallmark of a “union shop”; whether the contract will guarantee union representation, should Powell sell the company; and whether workers will participate in strategic business decisions.
What’s more, quarrels are intensifying away from the bargaining table. Earlier this week, Powell filed a charge of an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board, his second in four days.
“I will not be bullied,” Powell said, admitting to hardening his bargaining stance.
The union has filed six such charges, almost one a month since bargaining began in September, and it has escalated street protests, particularly those at the flagship store, Powell’s City of Books on West Burnside Street and Northwest 10th Avenue in Portland.
“Pressure at the store is not our first choice, but if doesn’t happen at the table, we’re not given many options,” ILWU organizer Michael Cannarella said.
Employees voted for union representation April 22. The victory was a nail-biter: 166-155. Contract negotiations began Sept.14, and almost immediately each side began complaining about the other’s stubbornness.
And another rift is developing. A group of employees disheartened by ILWU bargaining tactics may try to force another vote and oust the union.
“I’d like to decertify the union,” said Marti Michael, who has worked for Powell’s for six years and is spearheading the effort. “I’m not sure I have a chance, but at least I’m out there.”
Michael must wait until the union is at least a year old before she submits a decertification petition to the National Labor Relations Board. The petition must contain the signatures of at least 30 percent of the bargaining unit.
An upcoming convention of the ILWU will bring to Portland 400 to 500 union officials from throughout the West Coast, and edginess between the two sides could increase another notch.
Yet the most disruptive development involves the rising rancor between Powell and a core group of union representatives. In short, the confrontation has gotten personal.
“There’s a complete lack of trust on both sides,” said Dave Weich, who produces and markets the company’s Web site and is part of the bargaining unit.
Weich said he watched in dismay as protesters gathered at the Internet shipping center March 17, blocking outgoing mail and preventing managers from entering.
A tire on a Powell’s van was flattened – slashed, according to the unfair labor practice charge filed by Powell.
Cannarella, who organized the protest, said he didn’t learn of the tire incident until the next day and knew of no ILWU members who had participated in any vandalism.
The protests were designed to expedite an agreement, Cannarella said.
Employees put the blame for the foot-dragging directly on Powell. They say he doesn’t respect them. Sometimes, they say, he even forgets their names.
“He’s never even been to the table,” Cannarella says. “The view he’s getting is definitely filtered.”
Powell said he is leaving the negotiations to his bargaining team but is updated constantly. As for the names of his employees, how can he be expected to know them all, he asked.
“I’ve been hung out to dry” for forgetting someone’s name, Powell said. “It’s not my best strength. . . . Guilty.
“Other than that, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong,” an emotional Powell said in an interview this week with The Oregonian. “And I’m going through all this pain.”
Powell believes the union negotiations have hurt the company for more than a year and are threatening the store’s standing.
“We’re still OK as a company, as an operation, but we’re not OK as a culture,” he said. “It’s creating quite a fissure. . . . It’s not the kind of company I’ve tried to foster.”
Employees said they voted for the union because they wanted to protect the bookstore’s eclectic nature and to foster a workplace that linked each worker’s expertise with a customer’s search for just the right book. Organizing efforts first began when Powell instituted a reorganization plan that changed work assignments and diluted responsibilities, employees said.
That’s one reason negotiators are insisting that the contract include ways for employees to influence company decisions, such as those that address work schedules and duties.
“What they want really, is a co-op based structure,” said Powell, who maintains that such concessions would hamstring management.
As for a union shop, Powell objects.
“I’ve always championed free-association,” and automatic union membership would violate those beliefs, he said.
The one thing they may soon agree on is pay. Management has offered almost $2 million in additional compensation during the next three years. Raises and promotions, along with one-time adjustments, increase wages by 10 percent in the first year,5 percent in the second year and 5 percent in the third year, under management’s latest proposal. The median wage stands at about $8.40 an hour, according to union calculations. Management pegs average pay at $9.88 an hour.
Union negotiators still are reviewing the offer, but, Cannarella said,“We’re not that far off on money.”
