Strike Looming at PGE if System Operators’ Contract Not Settled

Thirty Members of IBEW Local 125 could Strike Starting August 2

Thirty system operators working for Portland General Electric (PGE) and who are represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125 have given notice to strike as soon as August 2, the impacts of which could ripple across the Pacific Northwest and potentially lead to widespread power outages. IBEW Local 125 provided an official strike notice on July 1 to PGE, a difficult decision that no worker takes lightly, as a result of stalled contract negotiations. 

The system operators are based at PGE's Integrated Operations Center in Tualatin where they perform highly specialized, critical duties to monitor and manage the flow of electricity throughout PGE’s power grid. They are responsible for a service area that includes more than 950,000 customers in seven counties and 51 cities. Nearly 2 million Oregonians alone depend on the power grid monitored and managed by the system operators. 

“We want to continue serving our customers but feel we have run out of options,” said Brandon Ek, Transmission System Operator and PGE employee of 26 years. “It’s the height of wildfire season and there are over 85 wildfires burning in Central Oregon alone right now. All of us want to do our part to make sure the power stays on.  If we’re forced to strike because management is stalling, we don’t have much of a choice. It’s time to settle a fair contract that respects us and the work we do.” 

The workers unionized with IBEW Local 125 in June of 2024 and have been working without a collective bargaining agreement since. PGE is a union employer, with about 25% of their total workforce belonging to a labor union. IBEW Local 125 represents linemen and other classifications of workers at PGE.

“When PGE’s system operators stood together to organize a union, they did so with the expectation that management would meet them at the bargaining table with a reasonable offer because of the incredibly vital services they perform every day to ensure power flows correctly in our region,” said Travis Eri, IBEW Local 125’s Business Manager. “Our experience thus far has been the opposite.  When PGE proposed concessions including pay cuts and being dropped from the pension, we had to take a stand.”  

To learn more about IBEW Local 125, visit https://www.ibew125.com/.