Skip to main content
Portland Community College announced Wednesday it will delay the start of most of its spring term classes to April 6, as labor negotiations with its faculty union drag on.
The college reached a tentative agreement with its Federation of Classified Employees on Wednesday afternoon. It has yet to reach an agreement with its Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals. The two unions represent about 700 and 1,600 employees, respectively. Many of those employees are in student facing positions.
The strike, which began March 11, has so far interrupted the end of PCC’s winter term, including finals week and final grade submissions. In an email to students sent Wednesday by PCC’s Office of the President, the college noted that the week of March 30, originally the start of spring term, may now be reserved for coursework or finals from winter. Final grades are now expected to be posted by April 1, the email read.
Notably, though spring term is expected to start a week late for all credited, adult education, and English for speakers of other languages classes, PCC still plans to end spring term as scheduled on June 15. Commencement is still scheduled for June 12. (Spring classes for Community Education and Professional Development & Training will be held during the first week of the term.)
“Officially the term is the same, but the first week is canceled,” James Hill, a spokesman for the college, said in a statement to WW. “We aren’t officially changing the academic calendar. (It’s a contract thing we need to abide by.)”
The strike entered its third week Wednesday. PCC had previously said Monday would be a key day for resolving the strike in order to keep spring term on schedule, but negotiations stalled. Talks in recent weeks have largely stalled over cost-of-living adjustments, but a more recent issue for union leaders was PCC’s refusal to provide back pay to striking workers.
The latter point appears to be a big hold-up for PCC. “As a publicly funded agency, PCC maintains that they will not spend tax dollars for people who do not provide the services for which they’re compensated,” a Wednesday press release read.
PCCFCE’s tentative agreement encompasses salary and benefits for the third and fourth year of the union’s contract, which runs from 2023 to 2027. (Both unions are engaged in midterm reopener conversations.) The package offers no cost of living adjustment in the third year, and a 5% cost of living adjustment in the fourth year. Classified employees will also receive a $1,350 lump sum payment upon ratification. There are additional provisions around benefits and workers protections, according to PCCFCE.
Justin Eslinger, the contract action team chair with PCCFCE, tells WW the union’s members will be voting to ratify the agreement on Thursday and, if approved, classified staff will return to work on Monday. He emphasized that PCCFCE still stands in solidarity with PCCFFAP.
In a statement, PCC president Dr. Adrien Bennings said that the resolution with PCCFCE “reflects the value of continued dialogue and good-faith collaboration.”
This post was updated after PCCFCE reached a tentative deal.
