Lately there’s been news coverage about an unlikely union organizing in Portland: On March 30, the nail techs, hair stylists, and other workers of popular local salon and spa Dosha rallied to unionize, and won. This story is about how a handful of people came together because they wanted to improve their working conditions. I was one of them and would like to share my experience with you, from an inside perspective. Ten years ago I signed up to become a hair stylist in Germany, where I was born and where unions are much more common. I moved to Portland in 2006, was hired by Dosha in 2007, and I quit in 2010.
Our goal last summer was simple: Returning roughly 70 signed union ballot cards to Joe, our organizer, before management would fire all of us once they found out what we were up to. Joe kept pushing for 70, close to half of Dosha’s eligible employees. To be eligible to join a union you cannot be a manager or have authority in any other way over other employees. Federal law only requires 30 percent of all eligible employees. But Joe wanted us to be safe the day we submitted the cards to corporate management. And with a number like that, it would be clear: This was more than just a fluke.
The concerns of salon workers like myself ranged from health code violations to discrimination and bullying at work. About a year into working at their Hawthorne location I couldn’t help but notice that in the hierarchy of Dosha, the workers came last. Through my eyes, what used to look at first glance like a pristine upscale salon turned into a building in desperate need of repairs and maintenance.
The spa floor was contaminated with black mold; meanwhile on the hair floor, water would break through the ceilings from the upstairs on a daily basis. And then there were sales goals: Dosha expected every employee to sell $15 worth of products for every service they perform. On average, 14 out of 16 stylists failed to make the goal bimonthly. For an esthetician, around 20 brow waxes equal $300 in product sales. Technicians were often denied promotions or vacation time based on their performance in sales, and other indicators for good performance like return clients or good productivity were hardly taken into account in career meetings.
In 2008, two events changed the way I thought about the company for good: Despite record sales, Dosha introduced a pay freeze that would last two years, and the Aveda Institute of Portland (AIP for short), opened in the Pearl District—a beauty school owned by the very same people who owned Dosha. It meant fresh new hires who were eager to start their beauty careers. This is great, I thought, I’d always toyed with the idea of becoming an educator.
As more and more of them were hired onto my team, I started seeing a pattern: These girls were hired in such quantities that it was near impossible for them to reach our sales goals. Dosha wrote out a new contract specially formulated for AIP students: Their hourly rate was $12 to start, and if they failed to make the sales goal, they’d get dropped to minimum wage. Too many girls meant not enough hours to go around, and no opportunity to make sales goals or money. And they couldn’t afford health care or make payments on their loans.
Most AIP graduates quit within months after they started. Each time that I’d hear one of them say, “I never want to do hair again in my life,” I became very upset. Whether or not it was purposefully done, I’d had enough of it.
In my own experience, people come to witty conclusions about workers in the beauty industry, considering who we hairstylists, nail techs, and massage therapists actually are:
“According to the Department of Labor Statistics, the need for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists will increase by 20 percent by 2018, while employment demand for skin care specialists is expected to grow by 38 percent. Other beauty professionals such as manicurists and pedicurists can expect employment demand growth of 19 percent. This demand for new employees in the beauty industry is believed to be a result of a greater demand in services from aging baby boomers and a younger generation more likely to use beauty treatments and enhancements at a younger age.”
Beauty careers are more attainable than college degrees, with only one to two years of education required and license costing between $20-40,000. Many of my former co-workers are single mothers who could not afford health plans offered to them by the company.
While a small salon in America currently employs, on average, seven people, in metropolitan areas salon and spa chains like Dosha, with up to 200 employees, are becoming more common. A nationwide example is Regis Corp, with hundreds of salons in various states. It’s much like one would imagine a hair factory. As an industry newcomer, you need experience. It’s tough to open your own business, and taking on a job with an established salon the size of Dosha seems like a safe option. The question is: Who looks out for the workers when salons go corporate?
Most Sundays last summer I came home late to my stuffy Belmont Street apartment asking myself this very question. Exhausted both from the salon work and the weighty secret of organizing a union, I’d often fall asleep almost immediately. Other nights, I would lay awake for hours completely paranoid and at war with myself for what I had been caught up in.
Over time a small group of trusted people started collecting evidence and familiarized themselves with federal and state law. We created a mailing list and used it to record conversations with managers, or exchanged photos of lunch break violations or broken equipment. Our friends at the union told us we had to silently add to the pile, which would eventually serve as ammunition during contract negotiations.
During this time we often had to remind ourselves that we loved working with each other at Dosha. It was important to remember what had inspired us to take on all this work. We didn’t want to leave and work somewhere else; instead we wanted to make things better for us and our clients.
On February 22, 2011, we had all the signatures and dropped off a letter from Madelyn Elder, the president of CWA (Communications Workers of America), to Dosha management. We could start campaigning for the union out in the open. This however did not take away the fear of losing one’s job. In both Madelyn and Joe’s experience, management often tries to get the strongest union supporters to quit in the campaigning phase before the elections.
On March 30, 145 eligible employees were asked to participate in the official election, and booths were set up in all locations. The National Labor Relations Board then proceeded to take all ballots to their office where they would count them out in front of all parties. I looked over at my friends waiting for the result. Everyone did their own math, adding up numbers holding each others hands. I couldn’t remember the last time my heart was beating this fast. Then they announced 79 Yes votes and 66 No votes. We won!
Within the following month, a bargaining committee was put together to represent workers during negotiations for the first union contract. Dosha hired Republican party member Bob Tiernan, who brought in Al Orheim, a business consultant, to represent management. By law both parties have to come to an agreement within 16 months after election day. Failure to do so will result in re-election. From one of the committee members I learned that Orheim often appears rather unprepared or misinformed during bargaining meetings. He has been taped stating that: “He is not going to TA (tentative agreement) anything before he sees the full contract.” Solving one of the most prominent union issues, affordable health care, has been a draining process. Union supporters learned that between campaigning and election day, Dosha secretly signed a new insurance agreement with Kaiser, saving the company $84 per employee, while it raised the deductible from $3,000 to $5,000. Because the agreement was signed with the union already campaigning, insurance issues should have been subject to union negotiations. It seems Dosha is in favor of re-election instead of coming to an agreement. This would unmask Orheim’s lack of professionalism, a part of a technique referred to as stalling in union jargon. A contract agreement is due in May 2012, and it would be the first time in American history.
On June 30, 2011, CWA brought over 100 union supporters to the Hawthorne salon, demanding better working conditions. In response, managers called police to dissolve the crowd.
When you’re Joe Crane, you’ve seen it all before. But for me it was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget. l have learned from strippers who unionize: hairstylists can too.
If you are a Dosha client or would like to read up on recent progress, show support for workers and look at photographs, visit their Facebook page.
Well this is a pretty unbiased article, thank you.
I’m glad to see both sides of the disagreement being presented.
Yo, this isn’t pitched or written as a hard news story and therefore doesn’t need to adhere to fair and balanced journalism rules. Mary states in the lede that this is the story of the Dosha workers. If it were a hard news story without bias the words “my experience” wouldn’t be stated in the second sentence, nor would she describe her introspective dabblings as she fought for union benefits. Further, even the Mercury (probably) wouldn’t hire an insider to cover this, given it’d be a blatant conflict of interest. Just sayin’.
~A girl with a journalism degree.
Wow. This article does an excellent job of illustraiting the intelligence, maturity, and concern for ALL of their co-works (not just the ones “on their side”) the average pro-union Dosha employee is. But whatever, you got your way, so fuck those other guys. Who gives a shit how they feel when you can so easily gloss over them in the persuit of your own self interests?
Keep it classy.
In recent decades, labor law has become very slanted to favor management. Stonewalling in contract negotiations in order to force a second election is very common, and it is effective in wearing down workers (especially those with the most to lose).
Hang tough.
@magmatron: the other option is tl;dr
Sorry Graham, I don’t speak abbreve.
@smegmatron5k: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Too…
What is your immigrant status?
I see my last comment got screened so I’m just going to say this: that pay freeze? Yeah, it keeps going for the next 9 months. And you quit so you don’t have to deal with the aftermath. You did them such a big favor.
This is ludicrous. You’re a sanctimonious little twit that clearly doesn’t understand labor laws. Glad you got out, pissed you left everyone with your mess. And that flash mob? Good job chasing away people’s livelihoods.
This is not an unbiased article, nor does it present both sides of the argument. What Mary fails to address are the countless Dosha employees who have been with the company for years and have built a solid and very successful career by EARNING it. I am all for improving the work place, I care about several of the pro-union employees and while this campaign may have started with the best intentions, it’s quickly dissolved into nothing more than a witch hunt and an immature, mis-guided attempt to prove a point. I was with Dosha for four years, started at the front desk for $8 an hour in 2006, and was promoted to the Corporate Office Manager and making a comfortable salary, within 6 months. I worked hard, broke sales records, gave outstanding customer service, supported my co-workers, showed up on time and EARNED it. I was the owner’s right hand for nearly four years and I can say with 1000% confidence that Dosha is not perfect, no business is, but it is run honestly and fairly. This level of entitlement is what is wrong with so much of our country.
Cmoto: “immature, mis-guided attempt to prove a point…” Pot, meet Kettle.
One correction. There is no law requiring an agreement within 16 months, or anytime for that matter. The NLRB will not allow another representation election in the 12 months following the initial representation election, this is called an “Election Bar”. Had the Union lost the election, they could not try again for 12 months, likewise, the “no” votes can’t try to get rid of the Union for 12 months. Another type of bar to representation votes is known as the “Contract Bar”, this is 3 years, or the length of the agreement (whichever is shorter). As long as a Contract Bar is in place, there can be no representation vote. ANY vote, to either certify or decertify a union as the representative must be accompanied with a 30% showing of interest, and must come from the employees, thus management cannot file a petition to get rid of the Union.
Haha, all of a sudden it smells like Aveda in this bitch. I know many of you look to the Mercury as your primary source of world news, but to let you in on an industry secret… the purpose of a “blog” is to convey opinions. If you want a balanced story, those are posted in the “news” section.
Yeah and guess what male receptionist, we have a right to point out sanctimonious twitness on blogs too.
I didn’t see where she said it’d be an unbiased article covering both sides of the issue. You should have expected her opinions and experiences from the get-go when you started reading the article, given how she begins.
Personally, I think this is a good thing, given how horrible labor relations have become in America. Good on the salon workers.
Um, WTF? If I wanted to read something incredibly earnest I wouldn’t be surfing at blogtown. The next five posts better be about fixie tall bike hipsters snorting cocaine and diddling the mayor.
Everyone I’ve ever met who’s worked for Dosha hated it and had plenty of stories about the unfair policies and bad management. Good for Mary and the Dosha workers (a majority) who’ve had the guts to organize and try to improve their working conditions. I’m shocked to see all the hate for workers expressed here.
And people, it’s a BLOG post, not a news article. Disagree or spout some corporate republican bullshit if you must, but quit whining about how unfair it is that the post isn’t unbiased.
Okay guys, I’ll come clear on my bias on this article’s author. My grandfather died in a concentration camp. He fell off a guard-tower.
Workers organize to improve their working conditions. Graham sneers. No surprises here.
@Rusty! FTW. Nazi reference in less than 20 posts.
Truly disgraceful comments here. Ugh.
A great article, and a reminder to those of us who enjoy union protection of the hard and often hazardous work that goes into organizing and challenging management.
@Sisya don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of experiences with unfair policies and bad management during my time at Dosha, but I took them to the powers that be, worked my issues out as a professional, and was heard every time. I was ALWAYS either met with a fair compromise, or left with a clear understanding of why things run the way they do and a clear plan for how I could achieve whatever it was I wanted to achieve. Dosha is an easy target and it’s equally easy to get caught up in a romantic, Norma Rae, Union saves the day scenario. The reality is that Unions are HUGE business now, much bigger than Dosha will ever be, and the unhappy employees have taken a huge risk in handing over their power to them. They’ve also gambled countless happy employee’s livelihoods in the process. It’s also important to not that I’m not a republican, nor am I a capitalist. I’m actually a bookish, lesbian, super-liberal and I believe in Dosha on all levels. Blog or otherwise, this is a public forum, this is a complex issue, and with so many lives effected, we have a responsibility to each other to explore all angles before casting judgement.
@cmoto, Being a self-professed liberal, or even a lesbian and bookish (?), doesn’t disqualify you from being pro-management, pro-corporate, and anti-union. Am I wrong, or did a majority of those “countless” employees vote for the union? Perhaps they don’t believe in Dosha on all levels as you do, or perhaps they just want to have a voice. Maybe you could elaborate on your vague charges about the union being “big business,” or how so many livelihoods have been imperiled by dreamy-eyed Mother Jones readers (apparently the only people naive enough, in your estimation, to support unions)?
@Ovidius: 45% of the employees at Dosha voted against the union. Does that make them all “pro-management, pro-corporate, and anti-union”? Or is this actually a more complex issue than this simplistic and one-sided article presents itself as?
Maybe if the author had thought to present a useful cogent argument for their side of the situation, presented the other side and then provided a rebuttal against said arguments, things would read differently. As it stands, this article is just preaching to the choir and does jack-all-shit to convince the reader of anything.
I tend to be pro-union and pro-worker, but I’m even more vehemenantly anti-lazy-writing.
@Graham, my remark about being “anti-union” is targeted at cmoto, to whom I addressed it. It’s fine to vote against unionizing, but cmoto is using several anti-union canards, suggesting that unions are corrupt “big business,” and that the corporation is really the little guy. Furthermore, that by trusting a union, employees are hurting their benefactors and by extension themselves. And, of course, suggesting that union supporters are naive radicals rather than, y’know, concerned working people.
I’m not blindly pro-union, nor do I ostracize members in my own union with whom I have disagreements. One of my colleagues has crossed the picket-line, another told management weeks ago that she would if bargaining broke down. I still count both of them as close friends. I am aware that these issues are complex.
As for this being one-sided, I’ll just iterate what others have said about this being a blog post and not a news article. I enjoyed reading it and hearing Mary’s side of the story.
It’s a POV blog post Graham. It’s not straight up news reporting. You’re being pedantic. AGAIN.
@kiala a badly written one. Graham has a point. She laid it out like she’s the great savior of Dosha. (In reality she jumped ship after her magnificent achievement that left everyone fucked.) She is lazy and egocentric to boot.
Looking forward to Graham going all J-school in the comments on the next Bieber update, cat video, or roundup of last night’s “Real Handjobs of NYC” episode, for not presenting a cogent argument, presenting all differing sides, and then giving a rational rebuttal to said arguments.
@Kiala: We’re both aware of how many blog posts get turned into published articles. If we can try and help the intern not publish a shitty article, then that makes us heroes and saviors of the written word. Just because I might agree with someone’s position; it doesn’t mean that I have to endorse their methodology or style.
@Ovidius of course you enjoyed reading this and hearing Mary’s side of the story- it supports your best interest. I am not anti-union, I am anti- this situation. I am anti- entitlement and anti-manipulation, both of which are at the foundation of this case as your comment to me illustrates. I would be thrilled if the union intervention improves the lives of all Dosha employees and saves the day, but I’m clearly skeptical.
@cmoto, I don’t have an interest in this. I am not a Dosha employee. I neither feel entitled to anything, nor am I trying to manipulate you since I do not have a personal interest in this. I wonder if you are suggesting that, merely by supporting the idea of unions or belonging to one, one has entitlement issues and is manipulative.
It sounds like you are bitter because you were on the losing side of this argument. That’s fine, I’d be bitter too. But there’s a difference between skepticism and hostility.
@Ovidius again with the manipulation. It’s as if there’s a “booya” punctuating each of your sentences. You’ve ‘won’ because you rely on the hope that the average American won’t apply critical thinking to statements like these. Sadly, you’re right:
“I wonder if you are suggesting that, merely by supporting the idea of unions or belonging to one, one has entitlement issues and is manipulative.
It sounds like you are bitter because you were on the losing side of this argument. That’s fine, I’d be bitter too. But there’s a difference between skepticism and hostility.”
Best of luck.
@cmoto, I don’t really think that the “average American” will be reading my comments on the Merc blog, and frankly I don’t care, much less hope, that they will. I swear I am not part of a grand union conspiracy to manipulate and persecute you. I am a lone, bored commenter on an local alt-weekly’s blog. I also promise that I have never said the word “booya” in my life, nor have I “won” anything because, again, I am not a Dosha employee. I am not even a Dosha customer.
@cmoto, Unions are non-profit organizations, with constitutions granting their members rights to participate in deciding the direction and leadership of the organization. They are the only organizations fighting for the rights of working people. How is that anything like big business? And since when is “entitlement” a bad word? Some times, the feeling of entitlement comes from actually having a right. I will grant you that at a non-union employer, entitlement is misplaced by virtue of having no rights to feel entitled to.
@Condemno, the biggest lesson I learned after 8 years of managing non-profits is that non-profit does not mean good, honest, or that someone’s not making a huge profit off of my hard work and under pay. Non-profits are like corporations, or anything else for that matter, there is no black or white. Non-profit does not automatically equal good and corporation does not equal bad. Similarly “entitlement” does not have to be a bad word, you are correct, but we have lost perspective as we have had things come so easily for generations and can no longer discern a “right” from something that must be earned.
The word “entitlement” is currently used to characterize people pushing for change as freeloaders. I believe all people have a right to health care, education, a living wage, shelter… these are problems that impact all of us, and should be shared by all of us. Efforts to address these problems are met with rebuttals citing socialism and entitlement culture.
Likewise, unions are characterized as profit driven big business to keep people from exercising their rights to join one. The difference between the non-profits you managed and unions, is the constitutional democracy inherent to all Unions. Under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, Union finances are monitored more closely than any other non-profit or for profit organizations. Hence the reason why people that steal from the funds are always caught.
Bottom line is, I admit that I am a hard core supporter of Organized Labor. You claim to be a liberal with no bias against Unions, and that may be true. But the points you raise are straight out of a union busting handbook.
I admit that I am a hard core supporter of Dosha. Supporting them does not mean I do not support Unions, the two are not mutually exclusive. And just for the record, no one is being denied their human rights by the owners or management of Dosha. To compare the two is an insult to sufferers of true rights violations.
“Hence the reason why people that steal from the funds are always caught.” Nice.
I would agree that the two are not mutually exclusive. A union supporter can be pro-employer as well.
I’m not following how you are connecting my pointing out that “entitlements” is a term used by the right to somehow demeaning human rights efforts. Nevertheless, by doing so you seem to be in agreement that health care and a living wage are rights. You further state that these rights are not being denied by Dosha. That leaves me wondering, what rights are these union supporters claiming that has lead you to believe they have a misplaced sense of entitlement?
And yes, people steal shit. Drug Addicts, teenagers, poor people, cashiers… CEO’s, business owners, and some union officers too. Unions just have more people watching for it.
You know, it’s really easy to bash unions and say that Dosha workers are just whining when you haven’t been at the bottom of it. I have NEVER in my LIFE been treated worse at a job than when I worked at Dosha. Say what you will everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I worked my ass off for over a year clinging to the hope that things would get better. I couldn’t take it anymore and I had to get out, so unfortunately I wont get to see the benefits of The Unions hard work. The feeling of unappreciated, underpaid, over worked, talked down to and pushed to sell products or you’ll lose your job just plain sucks! There are a handful of employees, mainly the ones on commission pulling $70,000 a year) who absolutely LOVE it. They’re the ones who got in early and made nice the the owners. They make the company BIG money, of course the owners love them. However the rest of Dosha workers are just a number to them. Who cares if they’re unhappy because the sooner they quit the sooner they can fill their spot with another stylist who has maybe heard that Dosha isn’t the best place to work but doesn’t really know the half of it yet. I’ve heard people say “if you don’t like it then quit” well sure, why not take the easy way out. But what about the next round of new hires? They’re going to be treated just as crappy as you were, then they’ll quit and it’s an endless cycle! Why not say instead of “just quit” say “man, you should be treated with respect and dignity at work”. I stayed as long as I could but I wasn’t strong enough, sorry it’s the truth. You can only take that crap for so long. I applaud my former co workers and friends who have stayed strong and suffered the abuse the sake of all Dosha employees. I was ready to quit right before the Union, but I thought maybe things could get better. They only got worse. Dosha workers need a contract, now.
You know, it’s really easy to bash unions and say that Dosha workers are just whining when you haven’t been at the bottom of it. I have NEVER in my LIFE been treated worse at a job than when I worked at Dosha. Say what you will everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I worked my ass off for over a year clinging to the hope that things would get better. I couldn’t take it anymore and I had to get out, so unfortunately I wont get to see the benefits of The Unions hard work. The feeling of unappreciated, underpaid, over worked, talked down to and pushed to sell products or you’ll lose your job just plain sucks! There are a handful of employees (mainly the ones on commission pulling $70,000 a year) who absolutely LOVE it. Why wouldn’t they, they’re the ones who are treated great!? They’re the ones who got in early and made nice the the owners. They make the company BIG money, of course the owners love them. However the rest of Dosha workers are just a number to them. Who cares if they’re unhappy because the sooner they quit the sooner they can fill their spot with another stylist who has maybe heard that Dosha isn’t the best place to work but doesn’t really know the half of it yet. I’ve heard people say “if you don’t like it then quit” well sure, why not take the easy way out. But what about the next round of new hires? They’re going to be treated just as crappy as you were, then they’ll quit and it’s an endless cycle! Why not say instead of “just quit” say “man, you should be treated with respect and dignity at work”. I stayed as long as I could but I wasn’t strong enough, sorry it’s the truth. You can only take that crap for so long. I applaud my former co workers and friends who have stayed strong and suffered the abuse the sake of all Dosha employees. I was ready to quit right before the Union, but I thought maybe things could get better. They only got worse. Dosha workers need a contract, now.