Burgerville
Hamburger restaurant · Lloyd District ·
Seasonal shakes, sustainable burgers & fries with friendly service
Seasonal shakes, sustainable burgers & fries with friendly service
"I note that Burgerville, opened in 1961 by founder George Propstra, has for the past five years been the battleground for a contentious union fight between ownership and staff: the Burgerville Workers Union formed in 2018 and secured its first contract in 2021, making those workers the first fast-food employees ever protected by a collective bargaining agreement. That contract expired in May 2023, and since then the union has been negotiating a new agreement while alleging that Burgerville’s leadership is stalling talks and retaliating against staff; according to the Portland Mercury, the union has filed 10 unfair labor practice suits with the NLRB since the start of the year. Workers claim the company hired new employees at much higher pay in anticipation of the July 28 strike, that some who participated in the strike were locked out or had shifts canceled (a potential labor-law violation), and that non-unionized stores were offered better staff meal rates and hours in 2023. In the most recent bargaining round workers were pushing for higher wages, increased meal allowances, and other protections, and organizers hope an NLRB ruling will force management back to the table." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Burgerville, the fast food chain known for its seasonal shakes and groundbreaking fast food union, has confirmed that they do not allow any sort of “Black Lives Matter” or “Justice for George Floyd” buttons or materials in the workplace. "It is Burgerville company policy that employees working in restaurants may only distribute and wear buttons produced by Burgerville, and buttons related to terms and conditions of employment such as wages, benefits, and working conditions," the company said in a statement to OPB. The union, however, sees this policy as silencing its workers and has pushed back against this policy for years." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"At the Convention Center Burgerville, staff walked off this morning as part of a BVWU strike after months of slow bargaining; earlier this year workers at this location accused the company of union-busting, alleging unusually harsh punishments such as the alleged suspension of an eight-months-pregnant worker for leaving her nametag at home, which Burgerville denies. The union says progress has been made on tips and holiday pay but remains frustrated with wages and the pace of negotiations, and is striking until it has “sufficiently demonstrated their strength to the company.”" - Tim Forster
"I watched workers at the Burgerville inside the Oregon Convention Center officially unionize after 67 percent of employees voted by secret ballot to join the country’s first federally recognized fast food workers union. Earlier, employees had joined Montavilla staff in signing a petition requesting voluntary recognition; afterward, Convention Center workers reported rampant union-busting and repercussions, including firings and suspensions. Morrisha Jones drew the most public attention when she was suspended without pay for arriving for work without her name tag while eight months pregnant. After workers spoke out in a Willamette Week piece, Burgerville rescinded those punishments, and last Friday the location formally joined the union in an election facilitated by the National Labor Relations Board." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"At the Oregon Convention Center Burgerville, I learned that a secret-ballot vote overseen by the National Labor Relations Board was scheduled for today and Friday; this location was at the center of a large union-busting story after roughly 90 percent of employees who signed a petition requesting voluntary recognition were reportedly reprimanded in some way, including an employee suspended without pay while eight months pregnant, with vote results expected Friday evening." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden