Corvallis city workers went on strike Wednesday as the fight continues over a new contract.

In the morning, supporters were marching picket lines in front of City Hall and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

“Management’s just been playing games, and that’s why we’re here,” said library worker Stephen Whitener. “We almost thought we had something yesterday, but then they just wouldn’t work with us on the financials.”

The union represents more than 240 city workers, including for parks, public works, the library and wastewater management. They’re trying to reach a deal with the city on a new three- or four-year contract.

But the union is demanding higher cost-of-living adjustments than the city’s current offer, and it wants more pay steps so that long-time employees can receive additional raises.

“We have a lot of people here that work part time, and a lot of people that can’t afford to live in Corvallis, whether because of rent or house prices,” said Whitener. “There’s a real disparity here between the management and represented employees.”

The city, meanwhile, argues it’s offering competitive wages at a time when it’s also dealing with a $20 million budget gap which could cut into core services.

“The City must make decisions that protect long-term financial health and the public services our community members depend on,” the city said in a press release Wednesday. “Despite that challenge, we have put forward a meaningful compensation package because we recognize the value of our employees.”

During negotiations, the union and the city have also disagreed about how to calculate the costs of the contract. The city claimed late last month it believed a previous union offer was $1.9 million more expensive than the union had said.

Shilo Anway, an alternate for the union bargaining team, said there’s still confusion about those numbers, but he believes the parties’ methods are now closer together. City spokesperson Patrick Rollens said Wednesday that the issue hasn’t yet been resolved.

The parties met in a last-minute mediation session on Tuesday.

Anway said the union has offered to concede to the city’s proposal to increase workers’ healthcare burden, but the union wants to push those changes to the last six months of the contract.

In exchange, Anway said the union also offered to push the creation of the new step increases to the last six months as well. But he said the city rejected that offer.

“I think they’re really stuck on just maintaining their contract language because we don’t want to set a precedent,” said Anway. “I understand that, but at the same time, neither do we.”

Strike impacts

Anway said a follow-up session had not been scheduled as of Wednesday morning, although there were tentative talks about future meetings.

In a press release Wednesday, Corvallis City Manager Mark Shepard said the city will continue to work toward a deal.

In the meantime, the city said it will provide updates on its operations during the strike on its website. As of Wednesday, it said the Public Works Department will be closed to the public.

The city said the strike could also affect seasonal street sweeping, park maintenance and city billing support, while the library will be open with limited services aside from pre-planned closures Thursday and Friday.

“Thankfully, it seems like the impact will be minimal for now,” Rollens wrote in an email to KLCC Wednesday.

Whitener said in the library, there are specialized, trained workers that won’t be easy for the city to reproduce. As the strike entered its first day, he said he was feeling cautiously optimistic for a good result.

“I am hoping that this strike will be short and powerful and painful, so it can be successful and be over,” Whitener said, “and we can get a great contract and get back to work.”

Nathan Wilk is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/14/corvallis-city-workers-strike-over-union-contract-negotiations/