Our team has created a unionized, worker-led organization that fights against the worst practices of the nonprofit industrial complex. We are a workplace that truly cares about its employees and the communities we serve.
Despite the horrors of the year, it’s important to also remember that there is a lot of good work being done. Below are some of the ways our team continued to build power in the labor movement and fight for the working class over the past 12 months.
Represented workers as Local Officers within our union
Last fall, Breach Climate & Energy Attorney Nick Caleb and I were elected into officer positions at our union, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901. As Area Vice President and President, respectively, Nick and I were joined by six talented and devoted rank and file members who also stepped into leadership roles.
In our first year as officers, we’ve increased our membership numbers, brought on a full-time organizer (a first for our Local), and built camaraderie and trust across membership. We’ve also bargained several strong union contracts that resulted in increased wages, benefits, decision-making power, and transparency for members.
Earlier this year, our Local, in alliance with rank-and-file workers and Oregon labor organizations successfully defeated the Northwest Oregon Labor Council’s (NOLC) unilateral attempt to admit the Portland Police Association – which represents the police force involved in some of 2020’s worst anti-protestor violence. The Local 7901 team is resting up so that we can hit the ground running in January. We have big plans in place.
Organized hundreds of workers in Oregon
This year, several of us – either in partnership with CWA 7901 or as officers of 7901 – supported hundreds of workers to organize their workplaces across Oregon. In the spring, employees at Beyond Toxics in Eugene went public with their unionization campaign and received voluntary recognition from the organization. We are excited to negotiate a first contract for them in the coming months. Last week, a near-supermajority of eligible Portland City Council staff filed authorization cards with the Employment Relations Board. Those are just two of several campaigns (most of which are currently underground) that CWA 7901 and Breach have supported this year. We are looking forward to more public launches in 2026 as we continue to fight for increased protections for workers across Oregon.
Supported nonprofit workers through our Substack: Organize Your Organization!
Last year, we launched our Organize Your Organization (OYO) project, including our free OYO handbook, a step by step guide to unionizing nonprofit workplaces, and our OYO Substack, where we have in-depth discussions about workplace organizing. This year we’ve continued to build out these resources.
We’ve received feedback from workers across the country who’ve shared how valuable OYO is and how it’s allowed them to feel confident in taking the steps to form a union at their workplace. One of our favorite Substack posts from this year was our conversation with the great Kim Kelly, who wrote Fight Like Hell, the Untold History of American Labor, and who regularly writes for In These Times and Teen Vogue.
Organized labor against the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub
Breach Collective, in partnership with CWA Local 7901, 350 PDX, Extinction Rebellion, Portland Democratic Socialists of America, and other community allies spent months organizing to create substantial progress in building out a strong labor contingent to team up on efforts to improve community safety at the CEI Hub in Portland. The Blue Green Alliance began joining coalition meetings earlier this year, and in early December the Portland Association of Teachers formally voted to join the coalition. The coalition is working to meaningfully protect our communities from toxins and potential disasters that might occur at the CEI Hub. Breach staff, in their elected officer positions at CWA 7901, have held and will continue to hold workshops for rank-and-file workers to get their own unions more involved in joining the coalition. We look forward to continuing to organize workers against the CEI Hub’s health and safety threats in 2026.
