On Friday, September 1st, we held our 9th bargaining session. PPS rejected all four of the Union’s proposals related to safety, nondiscrimination, the grievance procedure and personnel files.

Management continues to push back against any meaningful improvements to our contract, such as rejecting the Union’s proposals to include antidiscrimination, antiracism and antiharassment protections. We were told that if employees disagree with management’s handling of discrimination cases, then the only recourse workers have is to file a charge against PPS at BOLI (State of Oregon Burau of Labor and Industries).

After six months of bargaining, no progress has been made on any of the Union’s priorities, such as safety, healthcare, wages, inclement weather or job assignments. The official bargaining period ends on Thursday, November 9th, 2023.