Portland City Worker Strike Averted As Unions Approve Contract

PORTLAND, OR — As it turns out, there will not be a strike. More than 1,100 Portland city workers who would have walked out the door on Thursday, will be back at their desks.

The District Council of Trade Unions, which is made up of six local unions representing the workers, made the announcement on Wednesday.

Union members voted on Tuesday and approved the new contract with 58 percent of the vote.

Workers will get:

• A 2% across the board raise on top of COLA in the fourth year of the contract;
• Preservation of essential worker language;
• A new process to allow for classifications to be considered for upward wage adjustments during the life of a contract instead of only once per cycle;
• A $3,000 one time payment to each member;
• The first shift differential adjustment introduced since the 1990s, this time tied to inflation; and
• A 1.6% COLA, retroactive to July 1st of 2021, 5% in 2022, and COLA between 1% and 5% in 2023 and 2024 depending on the Consumer Price Index.

Rob Matineau, the president of the DCTU and AFSCME Local 189 said that "While this agreement meets the goals of our union by not falling behind, we are disappointed in the City’s lack of leadership in addressing the overall staffing problem.

"With no plan or vision on how best to restore full resources and services to those that live in the City of Portland, understaffing will continue to plague our city services. We are not done addressing the staffing crisis facing the City and will be working with community partners to help develop this plan"

The Portland City Council, which still has to approve the agreement, which it's expected to do in the coming weeks, issued a statement expressing their gratitude to DCTU workers for helping improve the city.

They did not address the concerns raised by Martineau.

This is the closest that workers had come to striking since 2001 when they actually walked off the job. That strike lasted 45 minutes before a new contract was adopted.