UPDATE 2/5/25: One day before the planned strike, the two sides announced tentative agreement on a new contract.
More than 200 City of Portland workers are poised to go on strike Feb. 6. The District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) negotiates for city employees who are members of five unions: IBEW Local 48, Machinists District Lodge W24, Painters District Council 5, Operating Engineers Local 701, and UA Local 290. It issued a 10-day strike notice in late January after a strike vote that passed with 97% support.
Mediation continued this week, but at press time Feb. 4, workers were still set to strike.
DCTU Chief Negotiator Mark Hinkle said the unions and the city made progress in negotiations on Feb. 3, but not enough to reach a deal. Another mediation session was scheduled for Feb. 5. The two sides have tentative agreements on everything but compensation.
The DCTU is seeking wage increases for several classifications. All workers would get at least a 1% raise in the first year, in addition to annual cost-of-living increases of 1% to 5% a year, based on inflation. The DCTU wants larger raises for job classifications that are paid below the median for comparable public sector positions. That includes electrical and plumbing inspectors, vehicle and equipment mechanics, and some electronics technicians. Most wage increases have been settled, but not all.
Current wages vary widely depending on job specialty and seniority, from $26 an hour for trainee vehicle mechanics to $60.49 an hour for senior electrical inspectors.
The city’s latest proposal, presented Jan. 28, would increase base wages on average 3.3% over the contract, not counting cost-of-living raises. Raises for entry-level positions would range from 1% to 11.1%.
Jobs in the DCTU have wage scales that top out after one or three years on the job. The city and union have also agreed to 2% longevity pay for those who have worked for the city for more than 10 years, plus three extra paid days off each year for fully in-person employees.
DCTU’s last strike, in 2001, lasted less than an hour. In 2022, the city and DCTU reached agreement just days before a planned strike. Hinkle said negotiations between DCTU and the City of Portland frequently go to impasse.
“We feel like that’s when the city starts to move and starts to really bargain like they should have months prior. It’s sad that we always have to go to mediation and impasse to get the city to get it done,” Hinkle said.
