Workers Tap & Cafe was founded with a vision to support the local labor movement. Since opening in 2022, we have provided free meeting space to a multitude of local unions and new organizing groups. On May Day 2024 we expanded our support to include a local strike fund.
What is a strike fund? A strike fund is a pool of money, usually collected by a labor union, to support their workers during a strike action. Striking workers are forgoing their paychecks, and a strike fund can help cover living expenses for workers during the strike.
Many of the unions that make use of the Workers Tap & Cafe free meeting space are new and not recognized by their employer yet. They may also not be connected to a national labor union. As such, they don’t have access to the funds necessary to create a large strike fund.
That’s where we come in! We created the strike fund to help fuel local strikes in Portland that need community monetary assistance fast. There’s a chalkboard by the bar with the running tally of funds in the “war chest” and we share updates on our Instagram page when we make donations to striking workers. You can make a cash donation while at the bar or Venmo us @workerstap with the tag line “strike fund”.
Stay tuned in 2026 as we look to transform this fund into a nonprofit, allowing you to make tax-deductible charitable donations. The money in the strike fund will remain solely for supporting striking workers – not for any staffing. The strike fund is a volunteer project run by Workers Tap & Cafe.
Workers Tap 