Faculty and staff at Portland Community College (PCC) launched a strike Wednesday morning following 11 months of unsuccessful contract negotiations. The labor action marks the first strike in the history of Oregon’s 17 community colleges and involves two separate unions representing approximately 2,300 employees.
The PCC Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals (PCCFFAP), which represents about 1,600 faculty members, and the PCC Federation of Classified Employees (PCCFCE), representing nearly 700 support staff, officially walked out at 10:30 a.m. PDT across the college’s four metro-area campuses. The strike follows a formal impasse declared on January 30 and an overwhelming strike authorization vote in February.
Discussions have stalled primarily over salary increases. The classified staff union is seeking raises of 3% and 3.5% over the next two years, while the faculty union is requesting 4.25% and 4.5% bumps in years three and four to keep pace with inflation. PCC administration has countered with "structure increases" of 0.35% to 0.5%, arguing that when combined with existing annual "step" increases, total compensation would rise by up to 4%. College officials cited a projected $21 million budget deficit and declining enrollment as reasons for their fiscal caution, however faculty representatives have questioned administrative spending practices, pointing to increases in the budget for the president’s office and “large sums to non-student-facing special projects and contingency funds,” according to reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
This labor tension follows a broader trend of faculty unrest in the region; previously, Portland State University faculty authorized a strike during their own 2014 negotiations, though a strike was eventually averted through a late-stage agreement. Unlike those prior instances at the university level, the current PCC walkout represents a historic first for the state's community college system.
