After the Strike

Our strike is over. After six days on strike, Local 2975 members ratified a new five-year contract on October 22, by a vote of 152 to 12. Members return to work on Friday, October 23. City Council votes to approve the agreement on Monday, November 2. Read what we won →

Questions about returning to work: AFSCME2975@gmail.com or your shop steward.

After the strike: what members need to know

Retaliation for union activity is still illegal. No one can be treated differently for having been on strike. If a supervisor or manager does, write down what was said, when, and who was there, and tell your steward the same day.

That respect goes both ways. Some people in our bargaining unit chose to keep working during the strike. They are still our coworkers, the new contract covers them too, and how we treat them matters. Please don't harass, exclude or retaliate against anyone for the choice they made. As union members, we hold ourselves to the same standard we expect from management. If you have a concern about how a coworker acted during the strike, bring it to your steward instead of handling it yourself.

Hardship Fund. If the strike left you facing financial hardship, the Hardship Fund may still be able to help dues-paying members who lost wages. Apply for hardship assistance →

If you are not yet a member, join. Non-members are covered by the contract but have no vote on it. Visit join.oregonafscme.org, talk to your steward, or email us.

Updated October 22, 2026.

How we got here

  • August 28 — Members voted to authorize a strike. 89% of eligible members cast a ballot, and 90.2% voted yes.
  • September 1 — Our bargaining team declared impasse.
  • September 4 and 8 — Both sides’ final offers were made public by the Employment Relations Board, starting the thirty-day cooling-off period.
  • September 30 — We gave the City and the Employment Relations Board ten days’ written notice of a strike.
  • October 8 — The cooling-off period ended. Mediation; no agreement.
  • October 13 — Final mediation session before the strike. Management rejected our offer and broke off talks.
  • October 14 — Our strike began. More than 150 members joined the picket lines at City Hall and the Library.
  • October 18 — Mediation session. City management ended it after about two hours without moving from its July 7 offer.
  • October 19 — AFSCME International President Patrick Moran walked our line. That evening members filled City Council.
  • October 21 — After ten hours of mediation, we reached a tentative agreement.
  • October 22 — Members ratified the contract, 152 to 12. The strike ended.
  • November 2 — City Council votes to approve the agreement.

Thank you

To every member who walked the line, and to the neighbors, downtown businesses, elected officials, retirees and union siblings from across Oregon who stood with us and gave to our Hardship Fund: thank you. We won this together.

Strike handouts (for the record)

AFSCME Local 2975 represents approximately 246 City of Corvallis employees. Our members work in Public Works, the Library, Parks & Recreation, Community Development, Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, and the City Manager’s Office, and in civilian roles supporting the Police and Fire departments.