Workers at PGE’s Tualatin power grid operation center may go on strike starting Aug. 2, union says

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) — System operators working for Portland General Electric may go on strike as early as Aug. 2, which could possibly lead to widespread power outages, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125 said on Thursday.

This comes after IBEW Local 125 provided an official strike notice on July 1 to PGE, the union said.

According to the union, the 30 workers preparing to go on strike are based at PGE’s Integrated Operations Center in Tualatin where they monitor and manage the flow of electricity throughout PGE’s power grid, which serves more than 950,000 customers in seven counties and 51 cities.

The union warned customers that the strike could lead to power outages across the Northwest.

Brandon Ek, a transmission system operator and PGE employee of 26 years is quoted in the union’s announcement, saying the workers feel that they have run out of options.

“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,” Ek said in the announcement.

The union says the PGE workers unionized with IBEW Local 125 in June of 2024, but have been working without a collective bargaining agreement since.

In the union’s announcement, IBEW Local 125’s business manager Travis Eri is quoted as saying that PGE has not presented a “reasonable offer” to the bargaining workers.

“When PGE proposed concessions including pay cuts and being dropped from the pension, we had to take a stand,” Eri said in the announcement.

FOX 12 has reached out to PGE for comment and will update this story when they respond.