Portland council approves DCTU contract with wage parity, callback and standby changes

The Portland City Council voted unanimously to ratify a successor collective bargaining agreement with the District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) covering 2025–2027.

Anne Marie Kevorkian, labor relations coordinator, told council the DCTU unit is a trade-focused coalition of roughly 200 employees, primarily in fleet, facilities, water, permitting and development. "The DCTU limited much of their changes and requests to wages and premiums, leaving a good majority of their collective bargaining language intact," she said.

Key provisions include a minimum 1% wage adjustment retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025; a 2% longevity premium for employees with 10 years of service; a new 3% premium for mobile vehicle and equipment mechanics; an increase to minimum callback pay from three hours to 3.5 hours; and standardized standby wages set at 24 hours per week for seven consecutive days (up from 18 hours). The agreement also provides three additional personal holidays for employees required to be fully in person, changes to citywide closure language that provide hour-for-hour deferred holiday pay during citywide closures for required reporters, and an increase to union leave (10–40 hours of city-paid time) for certain union business.

Kevorkian said the DCTU agreement also includes pay-parity adjustments for some classifications shared with Portland City Laborers and a pilot premium for permitting and development commercial inspectors. City staff estimated the contract’s new spending at roughly $6.0 million plus about $700,000 in one-time investments, for a three-year total of about $6.7 million; adjusted into the latter half of the fiscal year, staff estimated a full cost near $8.3 million.

Councilors praised the bargaining teams. Councilor Novick highlighted the three additional personal days for fully in-person workers and noted commuting costs and time. Council statements similarly stressed labor organization and collaboration; several councilors noted the presence of Portland Fire and Rescue employees among the DCTU membership and expressed support for those workers.

As with the AFSCME item, the council approved the DCTU ratification as an emergency ordinance on first reading by unanimous roll call (11-0). Presenters and councilors said the agreement advances pay parity and addresses long-standing provisions such as callback and standby time.

Staff did not provide a detailed breakout of general-fund versus other-fund responsibility during the meeting; councilors requested that allocation be provided to the council in writing after the vote.

The council then adjourned.