Joint Statement from Neighborhood Partnerships and their new Union, ILWU Local 5

On February 27, Neighborhood Partnerships leadership voluntarily recognized the unionization efforts among its workers.

Neighborhood Partnerships & ILWU Local 5 both believe in the transformative power of collaboration & organizing. At NP, we center those most impacted by racial, housing & economic injustice, directing our energy & resources toward building community power, knowledge & capacity. In the spirit of this mission & at the request of a majority of NP workers to unionize with ILWU Local 5, today we are announcing the unionization of NP.

NP’s core vision leads toward a culture & economy of abundance where everyone thrives. Organizing & centering those who are most impacted are key practices & shared values in the work of both NP & the ILWU Local 5—the Board of Directors & Leadership of NP voluntarily recognized the unionization of NP staff in order to further embody these values internally. In their formal request, the workers who organized toward unionizing expressed their pride in the work NP does & their belief that this was the next step to foster trust, equity & a fair balance of power.

The organizing workers of Neighborhood Partnerships added this collective statement: “We, the workers of Neighborhood Partnerships, are ecstatic to be voluntarily recognized & join ILWU Local 5. This is significant for a few reasons: 1st, as an organization that advocates for economic & racial justice, it was important for us to come together & live into those values that center the expertise & experience of those most impacted in a liberating & equitable way. 2nd, it is significant that NP as a nonprofit joins the labor movement, not solely to protect our own labor but also to emphasize that unionization is possible & needed in the nonprofit sector. We are looking forward to contributing to the movement for worker solidarity & liberation. Lastly, we are excited to continue to help grow NP into the worker-centered, genuinely equitable, & liberatory organization we know it can be. Coming together & using our collective power as workers will help NP exemplify what an economic & racial justice organization looks like.”

“Neighborhood Partnerships values our staff and the hard work they do day in and day out,” said Carlos David García, Executive Director of Neighborhood Partnerships. “Our organization is aligned with the values-centered process our workers have organized around, and we are pleased with the collaborative and open spirit of ILWU Local 5. Our Board and leadership are bringing our strategic values to bear in making the decision to meet our workers where they are and voluntarily recognize the union. We know that we all share a commitment to the work and long-term sustainability of Neighborhood Partnerships. We look forward to working together to make that shared vision a reality.”

“ILWU Local 5 is proud to stand with the workers of Neighborhood Partnerships and thrilled about our newly formed relationship with such a leader of economic justice in Oregon,” said Ryan Van Winkle, ILWU Local 5 President. “As a labor union, we are honored that those workers who are engaged in the daily struggle of creating economic justice and equity in our communities have chosen to join ILWU Local 5. We know that creating systems of justice at every level of society and for us, within every corner of every workplace, is key to ensuring that all workers have a voice and to uplift and codify the collaboration between leadership and rank-and-file workers.”

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