Bay Area
Unsatisfied with Wages, Working Conditions, Urban Ore Workers Try to Unionize
Workers at Berkeley’s popular salvaged goods store, Urban Ore, filed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) stating their intention to form a union through the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) on February 2.

By Zack Haber
Workers at Berkeley’s popular salvaged goods store, Urban Ore, filed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) stating their intention to form a union through the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) on February 2.
That same day, an Instagram account associated with the union drive posted a statement voicing support for the store and its mission of stopping waste while also pushing for higher wages and scheduling reform for workers.
“We are proud to work at Urban Ore, and we want to make it even better,” reads the statement. “Urban Ore allows its customers a more sustainable alternative for shopping, and we want it to provide more sustainable jobs.”
On February 5, workers held a rally to support their union drive outside of the store. Members of East Bay DSA and several unions, such as ILWU, Bay Area TANC, and the National Union of Health Care Workers, accompanied the workers.
The NLRB will soon hold a secret ballot election for the store’s 25 union eligible employees. If a majority votes to approve the union, it will be officially recognized.
Benno Giammarinaro, who works in Urban Ore’s merchandise receiving department, said he’s “definitely optimistic” employees will secure enough ‘yes’ votes to unionize. As part of their union petition filing, a majority of the store’s employees have already submitted signed cards indicating a desire to form a union.
Mary Van Deventer told this reporter that she and fellow Urban Ore co-owner Dan Knapp would not do an interview. She did, however, e-mail a written statement from the store saying it “respects the rights of its employees to unionize if that is what a majority desire.”
Van Deventer’s statement also said the company offers “very competitive pay.” Urban Ore pays its non-managerial staff a base wage of $13.60 an hour, which is less than Berkeley’s minimum wage of $16.99. But these employees also get fluctuating additional wages as a portion of the store’s gross income goes to them.
In January, this proportion was raised from 10% to 15%. This year the owners estimate the income share to provide a $9.25 boost to the base wage, meaning that, in total, they expect workers to make around $22.85 per hour.
Urban Ore worker Sarah Mossler said that she’s not against income-sharing, but that the current model often leaves her worried about whether or not she can pay her bills.
“I’d be fine with it if we had a stable, minimum living base wage,” said Mossler. “But it’s been incredibly stressful for me because my rent is the same every month while my paychecks aren’t.”
The owners describe the income-share as an “incentive” for workers, but Giammarinaro thinks the current model “puts the risk of the business on the workers,” as factors beyond their control, such as the weather, affect sales.
“If there’s a rainy week,” he said, “merchandise gets damaged, and people don’t come out as much. This means we make several dollars an hour less than usual.”
Ultimately workers feel that their paychecks, even with income-sharing, make living in the Bay Area difficult, and that the wage rate has contributed to high employee turnover.
“We are struggling to afford living in the community that we love,” reads the Urban Ore worker statement on Instagram. “This has created a chronic understaffing problem.”
According to Giammarinaro, 19 Urban Ore employees have left since he first started working there in May of 2021. Currently, the store has 31 workers employed below the senior management level.
Giammarinaro feels the company is in a good position to raise wages to address the turnover as sales have surged since COVID started. The store, which sells mostly donated goods like doors, furniture, appliances and media, has taken in about $7 million in the last two years.
In a letter that Operations Manager Max Wechsler sent to employees this year announcing the income-share percentage rate increase, he stated that, except for its mortgage, Urban Ore is “debt-free.”
Both owners and workers agree that working at Urban Ore is physically demanding. In their statement, the owners describe the jobs as “physical work for all staff,” and that “three tons of goods” enter the store each day.
For most workers, this means lots of lifting. Giammarinaro often finds himself exhausted, saying “almost every day I immediately come home and plop on my bed after work.” Mossler thinks addressing understaffing would make doing such lifting safer.
“When you’re lifting something designed for lots of people to lift,” she said, “and you’re on your own, it’s dangerous.”
Giammarinaro and Mossler both said that in addition to addressing wages and understaffing, they want a union in order to have a say in how the business is run. Recently, Mossler decided to step down from a position in management she had been promoted to in order to be eligible to be a part of a potential Urban Ore union.
While she had taken the management position with the goal of influencing the business and helping co-workers, she didn’t find that method effective.
“I took the job as a manager because I thought that was the way to make the place better and advocate for the people I work with,” she said, “but I quickly saw that I just got more facetime with people that didn’t hear my ideas or take them seriously.”
According to Giammarinaro, one thing workers specifically want is time set aside for cleaning the store. Currently, all in-store cleaning has to be done during business hours, which makes it difficult to maintain the store.
“People could really clean, organize merchandise, and make things look nice if the store could close early once every few weeks, or if people could come in a bit early sometimes,” he said.
In recent years, workers have objected to the manner in which Urban Ore has terminated certain employees. Last summer, 15 workers signed a statement which called for a terminated worker to be rehired. The letter stated the worker had faced “mistreatment” and that their absence would “have a significant impact on revenue, workloads and organizing.”
While that employee was never rehired, workers, like Mossler, want a ‘just cause’ clause in their contract to make it so owners have to give a reason for terminating an employee in the future. Currently, Urban Ore, like all California businesses that don’t have contracts requiring otherwise, can terminate employees “at-will” without giving a reason.
“We think that the at-will employment can rear its ugly head,” said Mossler.
In their e-mail, Urban Ore’s owners stated that this year they are “working toward transitioning to become a worker-owned cooperative,” a transition they have spoken about in the press since 2017.
According to Giammarinaro, workers support such an idea but want to have a voice, through a union, in how a potential cooperative could be structured.
“We agree with a worker-owned cooperative model and thinking unionizing first will help,” he said. “We don’t think we need a coop to start making workplace democracy.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

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Activism
Oakland’s Most Vulnerable Neighborhoods Are Struggling to Eat and Stay Healthy
For this story, we focused on eight of the 12 ZIP codes in Oakland, those pertaining to East and West Oakland. The ZIP codes include 94601, 94603, 94505, 94606, 94607, 94612, 94619, and 94621. We chose to concentrate on these specific areas, known as the Oakland Flatlands, due to its longstanding history of extremely low-income households and racial inequalities compared to ZIP codes in the Oakland Hills.

These Are the Contributing Factors
By Magaly Muñoz
On a recent trip to the grocery store in West Oakland, single mom Neemaka Tucker contemplated what’s more important to her family’s needs – expensive fresh produce or cheap instant ramen noodles.
“I’m trying to teach my kids to eat healthy, but then my pocket is like, ‘I’m broke’. Getting the processed foods is going to fill you up faster, even though it’s not good for your body,” Tucker said.
Bay Area residents are spending over $100 more a month on groceries than they were pre-pandemic. Those higher costs are straining wallets and forcing families to choose cheap over healthy, possibly contributing to more health problems. These problems are disproportionately affecting people in East and West Oakland, in neighborhoods primarily of low-income families of color.
Oakland residents are experiencing more health problems linked to poor diets, like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease than before the pandemic, particularly in neighborhoods of East and West Oakland, data shows.
“We see a direct relationship between what we eat and medical problems. What we eat affects our weight, our blood pressure and all those things circle back and have an effect on your diseased state,” said Dr. Walter Acuña, a family physician at Oakland Kaiser Medical.
According to data by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, about 1 in 10 adults in East Oakland neighborhoods experience food insecurity. That’s twice as many people than in most other parts of the city.
Oakland residents’ health concerns are growing
For this story, we focused on eight of the 12 ZIP codes in Oakland, those pertaining to East and West Oakland. The ZIP codes include 94601, 94603, 94505, 94606, 94607, 94612, 94619, and 94621. We chose to concentrate on these specific areas, known as the Oakland Flatlands, due to its longstanding history of extremely low-income households and racial inequalities compared to ZIP codes in the Oakland Hills.
According to UCLA research, about one out of every five adults under 65 in these areas of East Oakland reported poor or fair health. But these problems weren’t isolated to East Oakland. About one in six adults under 65 reported poor or fair health in areas of West Oakland, like the 94607 ZIP codes.
A handful of ZIP codes (94601, 94603, 94605, 94621) in East Oakland also have the poorest health outcomes of any area in the city. Residents there experience the highest rates of obesity and adult diabetes.
UCLA data shows that there has been a two percent increase in the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes in West Oakland (ZIP code 94607) since 2017- 2018. An estimated 11.8% of adults in 94607 in 2021-22 said they had diabetes, whereas 9.8% reported it several years before.
But the problem is more significant, only a few miles away.
In the 94621 neighborhood in East Oakland, an estimated 16.6% of adult residents reported having diabetes in 2021-2022, and the neighboring ZIPs averaged about 15%, according to UCLA data. 2017-2018 data show that only 11% reported a diabetes diagnosis in the 94621, a 5.6% change from recent numbers. The ZIP code estimates are higher than the states’, county’s, and city estimates—11%, 12.4%, and 12.3%, respectively.
Doctors working with Oakland and the larger Alameda County area are seeing an increase in the number of people coming to their offices with chronic health issues in the last few years.
Acuña said he’s frequently treating more and more adults with diabetes and hypertension.
Patients often tell him that it’s easier to afford unhealthy, cheap food than it is to afford the things that are going to make them feel better and stay healthy, he said
Dr. Steven Chen, Chief Medical Officer of Alameda County’s Recipe4Health, said that he’s seeing more kids across the region suffering from obesity, or adults on the brink of developing chronic illnesses, than in previous years.
“Chronic disease is a big epidemic. What’s the root of it? I think food is a big component,” Chen said.
He has seen evidence of improved health when people have access to better food. People with Type 2 diabetes experience a boost in metabolic and sugar management to healthy levels, and those with high blood pressures experience normal numbers.
Recipe4Health is a county-wide program that uses food-based interventions to treat and prevent chronic conditions, address food insecurity, and improve health and racial equity. The program provides up to 12 weeks of groceries for people who are at risk or are experiencing food insecurity.
It’s important for public sectors to have these kinds of investments locally because the results are tangible, he said.
“If our values are that no one gets left behind and that everyone should have an equal opportunity to health and health equity, then we need always to ensure that we are serving those communities that often are left behind,” Chen said.
Experiencing food insecurity in Oakland
Unfortunately, healthy food is becoming increasingly difficult for Oakland residents to access. Over the last five months, The Oakland Post heard from over 50 residents about their struggles finding and affording healthy food. We visited food banks, talked with people at markets and food distribution events, and distributed an online survey.
We learned that residents are travelling to other nearby cities to get cheaper groceries, financial assistance programs like CalFresh are challenging to navigate, wages are low, and food is getting more expensive while the quality appears to be dropping.
Andres, who asked us not to use his last name due to his undocumented status, said he often relies on food distribution from organizations like the Street Level Health Project for his weekly groceries. He wouldn’t be able to eat complete meals otherwise, due to the lack of consistent employment at his car washing job during the winter months.
With eight people living under one roof and only three adults contributing to the household income, he said things are tight.
“During these months, we’re always backed up on paying our bills, including rent, and we’re trying to do more with what little that we have, which is not much,” Andres said.
Andres’ biggest complaint about grocery shopping is the lack of fresh and healthy food that is affordable and good quality. He’s been to food banks and grocery stores where the produce rots within a day or two of receiving it, forcing him to buy fast food in order to feed his family.
Down the street at the Unity Council’s weekly grocery distribution, Mayra Segovia, a single woman in her 50s, said she visits this location almost every week to get food. Her fixed income on Social Security makes it difficult to afford her basic necessities.
Segovia said she receives CalFresh funding to pay for her groceries, but the almost $300 assistance is not enough to get her through the month, so she gets creative. She often does favors for local vendors in exchange for meals. Even with the Social Security checks of a little over $1,000 a month and other resources like subsidized housing, the cost of living is going up. She’s blaming the government for their contribution to the problem.
“We’re not all rich like Donald Trump and all those corrupt politicians, we don’t have that much money like that,” Segovia said.
Social service assistance is falling short
Several people we spoke with said financial food assistance like CalFresh isn’t supplementing the gaps in their budgets.
Neemaka Tucker, mom of two elementary-aged kids, said she receives $123 a month from CalFresh, yet she’s spending almost $600 on groceries at the store. She feels like she should be getting more assistance, especially considering her lower, single income. “I’m appreciative [of the CalFresh funds] that I get anything because every little bit helps, but it’s still not enough for my family,” Tucker said.
A lack of grocery store options in West Oakland has also made it even harder to get food on the table, Tucker said.
There are more convenience stores than grocery stores within walking distance to her home on the northeast side of West Oakland, and the prices seem to be exacerbated because of their limited food stock, Tucker said. A gallon of milk at the store could run her up to $3.80, but at the local convenience market, it’s nearly $6.
“I just find that the majority of the money that I’m spending is on the travel to get the food, then on the food itself,” Tucker said.
Healthy groceries are a necessity to manage Tucker’s health. She is diabetic and has high blood pressure, so eating and buying fresh produce is important because keeping her symptoms at bay is a must for her health. It’s been difficult to get what she needs for her body to maintain her chronic health problems because she often battles with lack of affordability of what she’s buying, she said.
“I find myself trying to figure out what’s healthy for each person and then have enough of it so we all can [eat well],” Tucker said. “Back in the day, bread and potatoes used to be staples to get your kids full, but food like that makes me sick because that’s too much [carbohydrates] since I have diabetes.”
Both her kids are athletes who also need healthy food. She’s finding that even though her kids don’t eat meat, which tends to be expensive, she’s still spending more than she’d like to on fruit and vegetables.
In Oakland, the local investment is low
In the last year, the city has cut grants to nonprofits like Meals on Wheels, which serves 3,000 hungry seniors, and Street Level Health Project, which provides groceries and meals to undocumented day laborers. Tax measures, like the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, were intended to help decrease the food and health crisis but are also not being managed in the way Oakland residents voted for, according to community leaders and advisory board members. The majority of the tax money is going towards funding city agencies.
The Oakland Post contacted city and county officials several times for comment but did not get a response.
Across the Bay Area, San Francisco is investing millions to address food insecurity through a pilot program that establishes free grocery stores in food desert districts. Shoppers of the pilot market said they have seen a positive change to the way they feed their families and how much they’re able to save every month.
Oakland resident PC, who chose to use an abbreviated version of his name to protect his privacy, said he’d be interested in seeing a market like the one in San Francisco because it would alleviate the tight budget he has for himself.
PC said he’s had some unpleasant experiences with food distribution workers being rude to residents waiting for grocery bags. “The line is already long as it is and can sometimes feel shameful when you’re going through hard times,” PC said, so an option to get free food in a setting that resembles a market would be ideal.
The garden lead for West Oakland’s People’s Programs, ab banks, helps deliver fresh produce from a local garden to households in the projects, because the need for healthier options has been particularly high in recent years, they said.
People’s Program serves around 170 people in the 94607 area with groceries, along with a mobile health clinic and free breakfast program. Their goal is to serve a community that already deals with its own set of disadvantages, and looks to show people that not everything needs to contribute to a bigger gain and people have the right to use the local land to grow the food they need.
Banks said they see firsthand what the lack of investment in West Oakland has done to folks: homelessness, priced out living situations, environmental racism, and lack of food access.
They explained that although they feel a duty and a calling to the work at People’s Program to help an underserved neighborhood, they questioned how the city is pouring millions of dollars towards finding solutions to Oakland’s biggest problems but no significant change has happened yet. banks said there are basic necessities that should be birthrights and not restricted to what the government thinks people need.
“[The investment] is not enough. There’s no access to fair housing, not enough access to food, not enough access to healthcare. But that’s just not specific to Oakland, that’s a United States problem,” banks said.
Reporter Magaly Muñoz produced this story as part of a series as a 2024 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellow and Engagement Grantee.
Activism
Report Offers Policies, Ideas to Improve the Workplace Experiences of Black Women in California
The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media
Backed by data, a report released last month details the numerous hurdles Black women in the Golden State must overcome to effectively contribute and succeed in the workplace.
The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.
CBWCEI President and CEO Kellie Todd Griffin said Black women have been the backbone of communities, industries, and movements but are still overlooked, underpaid, and undervalued at work.
“The data is clear,” she explained. “Systemic racism and sexism are not just historical injustices. They are active forces shaping the workplace experiences of Black women today. This report is a call to action. it demands intentional polices, corporate accountability, and systemic changes.”
The 16-page study, conducted by the public opinion research and strategic consulting firm EVITARUS, showcases the lived workplace experiences of Black women, many who say they are stuck in the crosshairs of discrimination based on gender and race which hinders their work opportunities, advancements, and aspirations, according to the report’s authors, Todd Griffin and CBWCEI researcher Dr. Sharon Uche.
“We wanted to look at how Black women are experiencing the workplace where there are systematic barriers,” Todd Griffin told the media during a press conference co-hosted by Ethnic Media Services and California Black Media. “This report is focused on the invisible labor struggles of Black women throughout California.”
The aspects of the workplace most important to Black women, according to those surveyed, are salary or wage, benefits, and job security.
However, only 21% of the survey’s respondents felt they had strong chances for career advancement into the executive or senior leadership ranks in California’s job market; 49% felt passed over, excluded from, or marginalized at work; and 48% felt their accomplishments at work were undervalued. Thirty-eight percent said they had been thought of as the stereotypical “angry Black woman” at work, and 42% said workplace racism or discrimination effected their physical or mental health.
“These sentiments play a factor in contributing to a workplace that is unsafe and not equitable for Black women in California,” the report reads.
Most Black women said providing for their families and personal fulfillment motivated them to show up to work daily, while 38% said they were dissatisfied in their current job with salary, supervisors, and work environment being the top sources of their discontent.
When asked if they agree or disagree with a statement about their workplace 58% of Black women said they feel supported at work, while 52% said their contributions are acknowledged. Forty-nine percent said they felt empowered.
Uche said Black women are paid $54,000 annually on average — including Black single mothers, who averaged $50,000 — while White men earn an average of $90,000 each year.
“More than half of Black families in California are led by single Black women,” said Uche, who added that the pay gap between Black women and White men isn’t forecasted to close until 2121.
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