Portland Braces For Strike As Municipal Worker Unions Sets Date

PORTLAND, OR – More than 1,100 city workers in Portland are prepared to strike if the city doesn't improve its offer to them. The main issue is wages.

The District Council of Trade Unions, which represents workers in AFSCME Local 189, IBEW Local 48, Plumbers Local 290, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5, Machinists District Lodge No. 24, and Operating Engineers Local 701, notified the city on Thursday of their plans.

The contract states that the union must give the city 10 days notice before a strike.

Last week, 86 percent of the workers vote to authorize a strike.

The two sides have been talking for about two years, trying to reach an agreement on a new contract.

While the city has offered a $3,000 bonus, a cost of living adjustment of 1.6 percent retroactive back to July 2021, and a guaranteed 5 percent cost of living adjustment that would go into effect this coming July.

Union officials say that the city's proposal doesn't keep up with inflation and that it's becoming harder for union members to live in the city where they work.

If the strike happens, it will affect wide swaths of life in the city.

The unions represent employees in the city's police, finance, transportation, development Services es, and water bureaus.