PORTLAND, Ore. — Faculty and staff at Portland Community College, including at the college’s Newberg Center campus, went on strike Wednesday after the college and its two unions failed to reach an agreement on wages and benefits during a nine-month bargaining process, disrupting the end of winter term for thousands of students.
Members of the Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals (FFAP) and the Federation of Classified Employees (FCE) announced they are striking, effective Wednesday, March 11. The college is operating remotely until the strike ends. Mediation is set to resume Monday.
Picket lines went up at 10:30 a.m. at PCC’s four main campuses — Rock Creek, Sylvania, Cascade, and Southeast. No picket is scheduled at the Newberg Center as of press time.
Both unions are affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers and together represent hundreds of workers, including full- and part-time faculty, counselors, librarians, academic advisors, administrative assistants, custodial staff, public safety officers, and IT specialists.
“While we are disappointed in these developments, Portland Community College remains committed to reaching agreements and will continue meeting with union leadership in good faith,” PCC President Adrien Bennings said in a statement. “Our focus is a settlement that is fair and sustainable, one that supports our employees while protecting the long-term stability of the college and our ability to serve students.”
The strike comes after more than nine months of negotiations. Mid-term bargaining began in May 2025 under provisions in both unions’ 2023-2027 contracts, which allow for a limited reopener restricted to salary schedules and health care premium contributions. After a mandatory 150-day direct bargaining period and two joint mediation sessions in January, both unions declared impasse and submitted last, best offers by Feb. 6, triggering a 30-day cooling-off period.
“They’re including threats of cuts to budget, cuts to programming, cuts to staff,” FCE bargaining team member and grievance officer Lezlie Bugg said in a statement posted to Facebook on March 9. “I’m not sure how they live with themselves threatening budget cuts off of our backs. We’re the people who keep the college running, it’s not okay.”
According to PCC, on March 10 — one day before the walkout — the college issued its third counter-proposals to each union. It proposed a 0% salary structure increase for 2025-26 and a 4% increase for 2026-27 for both groups, along with revised monthly insurance contribution caps. It offered classified employees a one-time $750 ratification bonus and faculty and academic professionals a $500 bonus plus a $2,500 stipend for employees holding advanced degrees.
The college said it recently made $14.7 million in reductions to balance its 2025-2027 budget and is facing an additional $21 million in reductions for the 2027-2029 biennium.
According to PCC, all eligible union employees received automatic step increases in 2025 under their existing contracts and are scheduled to receive them again in 2026. The college said any structure increases negotiated in the reopener would be in addition to those step increases.
The strike is expected to affect the end of winter term and could delay the posting of grades. Faculty will grade student work, and staff will process grades once the strike ends. Spring term is scheduled to begin March 30. Students affected by a spring term disruption will have a period to request a refund, which may be extended depending on the circumstances.
Updates from PCC are available at alert.pcc.edu.
