Warren Becker and the Cash Mob

This morning I took part in a Cash Mob for Blue Collar Baking Company,  proprietor Warren Becker, above with Abigail Carroll.

Warren’s bakery and coffee shop was recently flooded when a city water main broke, and subsequent repairs to the main made it impossible for customers to get to his store for a critical period. Jonathan Spagle and his partner Abigail Carroll, members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503, heard about Warren’s difficulties and organized today’s cash mob. I was on hand both to take pictures and to enjoy a baby Bundt cake (carrot, walnut, and raisin) and a great capucchino (Warren has his own blend of coffee, a little less acidic than most and quite potent).

Warren’s thank-you speech moved us to tears. He spoke of his working class parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; of his struggles to create a thriving business in Portland; of his gratitude for union workers and people who still believe in collective action and community. It was a glad reunion for many of us who met in Occupy Portland. More pictures reflecting the community spirit of the "mob," are here.  

Portland people: Warren's shop is at SW 3rd Street and Pine, very near where the Occupy encampment brought so many of us together two years ago.