Clackamas County’s largest public employee union has voted to go on strike.
The Clackamas County Employees’ Association announced the imminent strike in a social media post on Wednesday.
“CCEA members have made their voices heard,” a post on Instagram said. “Over 90% voted to authorize a strike.”
The union represents more than 1,000 public employees. They work in a variety of departments, including public health, parole and probation and the parks district.
Union leaders have yet to provide the county with a formal 10-day notice that they intend to strike, but said in an email that members have authorized them to provide the notice “at any time.”
The union and Clackamas County — Oregon’s third most populous county — have been in contract negotiations for months. The union’s previous three-year contract expired June 30, 2024.
At times, the negotiations have grown contentious. In January, the union filed an unfair labor practice with Oregon’s Employment Relations Board, alleging county leaders sought to force a contract agreement through illegal negotiating tactics.
Clackamas County has denied wrongdoing and says it has bargained fairly.
The dispute stemmed in part from a more than $200 increase in monthly health insurance premiums among union members. The county said the increase occurred because the two parties didn’t reach a contract agreement before the end of the year.
Since then, union members have voiced frustration at public meetings with county commissioners, saying the increase caught employees off guard and prompted some to take out loans and get second jobs.
Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader noted in a public meeting in March that the county intends to reimburse employees for the health care payments when the contract is reached.
A county spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
