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Mayor Keith Wilson sent an email Tuesday morning telling managers and supervisors at the city of Portland they’d be required to return to the office full time in April, a soft launch of a stiffer return-to-office work policy that Wilson has now mulled for weeks.
The mandate will affect roughly 700 managers and supervisors at the city.
It’s notable that Wilson’s mandate did not include non-management level staff in the mandate.
Three labor unions representing nearly 2,000 city employees are currently in ongoing labor negotiations, and two of them could strike as early as February if they don’t reach a consensus with the city. The city presented AFSCME Local 189, the largest of the three unions, its best and final offer earlier this month, but the union rejected it. That means a strike could be imminent. Those unions do not represent managers, so it’s unclear if the unions in ongoing negotiations will balk at Wilson’s mandate.
Wilson said he would not ask for a full return of non-managers and non-supervisors in 2025.
“This news will undoubtedly raise questions about our long-term workplace policy for other employees who remain remote and hybrid,” Wilson said in the Tuesday email. “Employees who are designated hybrid will still be required to spend at least half their worktime doing in-person work. I do not anticipate making any further policy changes for non-managerial staff in 2025.”
Before he took office Jan. 1, Wilson told a group of city employees on Zoom that he would ask them to return to the office at least four days per week. After an immediate backlash, Wilson backtracked, saying he would delay a full return-to-office mandate until next year. He said reducing homelessness and closing the city’s projected $27 million budget gap took priority over returning city staff to offices.