Hey all,
My partner is a removal technician for a privately owned cremation service in The Portland, OR metro. Their job is to collect the deceased from homes, hospice, and hospitals, and move them to the crematorium.
There are around a dozen removal techs between two shifts, as well as a handful of other positions (cremation techs, embalmers, etc.). The total non-administrative workforce is about 20 strong.
The working conditions there are… rough, if not often illegal. Scarce ppe, hazardous conditions, dirt pay, shitty hours, they’re expected to be on-call for 12 hours per shift, but are only guaranteed 9 hours of pay per shift.
They had a conversation with their coworker last night, and want to start a union.
Their shift is generally very young and left-leaning, and they assume a good bit of pro-union sentiment. There have apparently been unionization efforts before, but they were crushed by the owner, who works pretty closely by his business.
They’re not sure where to start. I’ve been through this process before, and actually piloted an organizing committee at my previous workplace, so I’m familiar with the process.
However, I would like suggestions as to what pre-existing unions to point out to them.
What I’m looking for:
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Experience in private medical organizations.
This, I would think, would be the best bet. The business is a crematorium, but the staff explicitly works with patients, albeit decreased. Any hazards dealt with at work are explicitly medical. As an example, they had a patient with MRSA last night, and were not provided the necessary ppe. Treatment of the dead is inherently an aspect of medicine, so this makes the most sense to me. (Partner agrees)
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A well established & well-resourced union.
Some of the labor practices as this place strike me as things that are explicitly in violation of OSHA standards and possibly the NLRA. Also, previous unionization efforts have been squashed by admin. It is my understanding that the owner is a mean motherfucker that has not and will not shy away from retaliation, and is generally “rolling in it.” A union with a solid legal defense council is a must.
- An expedient and engaged union.
The place has a pretty high turnover, so a short and efficient process is imperative. Also, the staff is generally quite green to this process. A union that will be willing to meet with and pave a path forward for the organizing committee will be necessary.
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Teeth.
The workers here don’t have a lot of leverage. It is a small team. Striking may very well be on the table.
Considerations:
SEIU seems pretty apt. I’m not 100% sold, but I know they’ve done work with a lot of clinical staff. Any anecdotes for or against is welcome.
Not AFSCME. I’ve gotten burned by them in the past at my previous workplace. When I tried to unionize my non-represented department at my previous job, the rep for our organization wouldn’t so much as respond to my emails. On top of that, I’ve witnessed them being completely toothless, yielding more towards the administration than to the union members. I cannot in good conscious reccomend them.
Probably not IWW(?) I love the hell out of these guys, but I fear that they are more of a PAC than an union these days. I worry about them not being able to meet the needs of this particular workforce. (I am open to being wrong about this.)
Please help me set these folks in the right direction. It’s very important that this sticks. This is a crucial line of work, and this business does not give much of a fuck about their employees at all. If one of my loved ones die, I would hope that the people in charge of sending them off with dignity would be well respected and well resourced.
If there are any subs that would welcome a post like this, please send me their way.
Thanks