Faculty Strike at PCC: Why Back Pay Isn’t the Answer

Portland Community College faculty have been on strike for three weeks, demanding that the school pay them for the days they miss. The union’s leader says this would let teachers return to work sooner, but it ignores the real costs of a strike. \\ Strikes usually hurt both sides: employers lose productivity and workers lose pay. It is rare for a faculty group to strike while still under contract, yet the PCC teachers have chosen this time to push for back wages. \\ The college estimates that paying all 1, 600 members would cost about $5 million. That money could be used for student services instead, especially since students are already suffering from cancelled classes and delayed grades. \\Faculty want extra pay for the work they will do after the strike, such as grading and adjusting lesson plans. However, those tasks were delayed because the union chose to strike during spring break, so it is unfair for the school to use its limited budget on compensation. \\ If the strike continues, students could miss more than a week of instruction and might lose financial aid or visas. The college’s board warns that further delays would harm students’ futures, and the school already faces budget cuts. \\ In 2025 a new law will let striking workers claim unemployment after two weeks, but the college would have to reimburse those payments. This adds another expense that could be better spent on student programs, not faculty back pay.