VANCOUVER, Wash. — Burgerville and its workers at five locations have ratified the first fast-food union contract in the U.S., the Vancouver-based company announced Friday.
The contract applies to workers at four of the chain's Portland locations — Lents, Montavilla, Hawthorne Boulevard and Oregon Convention Center — and one location in Gladstone, according to the Burgerville Workers Union.
Editor's note: Video attached to story aired on Nov. 21, 2021.
About three-fourths of workers covered by the contract participated in the ratification vote, and 92% voted in favor, the union said.
The Portland Business Journal reported the contract covers wages, tipping and leave benefits and is effective until May 1, 2023. Among its provisions are:
- Pay raises above 25 cents above Oregon's and Washington's minimum wages until wages reach $15 an hour
- Tipping at all locations
- Added health safeguards and worksites and sick, vacation benefits and paid parental leave
Burgerville announced a tentative contract agreement in November after more than three years of negotiations.
"This victory belongs to the Oregon Labor Movement and everyone who fought with us," the union tweeted. "You all gave us the courage to continue to fight one day longer."