15 Minutes of Fame

Portland, Oregon

Members of Local 189 (Council 75) here recently waged one of the shortest strikes on record. A marathon, 17-hour bargaining session on Oct. 22 continued past the midnight strike deadline. At 5 a.m., management demanded reductions in seniority rights. Picket lines went up across the city. Management quickly withdrew the demand, and negotiators reached a tentative agreement almost immediately. Picketing lasted about 15 minutes.

"The strike really got the city’s attention," says the union’s Michael Arken. "The fact that we got the machine together — got it oiled and running — scared them to death." A Local 189 executive board and bargaining-committee member, he had been frustrated that "management didn’t want to do any real problem solving" during almost 10 months of negotiations.

Members ratified the three-year agreement by a four-to-one margin. The package includes wage increases of up to 12.9 percent (depending on the Portland-area consumer price index) and the establishment of a health care benefits committee to redesign insurance coverage. The committee will include representatives of all affected employees, including those from the police and fire departments.