A monthlong countdown is now running at Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, where roughly 40 linemen and other field workers have delivered a 30-day strike notice after months of clashing with management over wages and on-call rules. Union members have planted signs outside the Baker City headquarters and say they are ready to hold the line for better pay. Their contract expired on April 1, and union delegates say members overwhelmingly rejected the co-op’s latest proposal last month.
Union issues strike notice
IBEW Local 125, which the union says represents about 40 OTEC employees, shot down the most recent contract offer in May by a 34-3 vote and formally issued the 30-day strike notice on June 22, according to La Grande Observer. Nick Simons, a La Grande lineman who serves as a bargaining-team delegate, told the paper the goal is still to reach a deal at the table, not to walk off the job, but the clock is now clearly ticking.
OTEC’s footprint and operations
Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative is a member-owned utility based in Baker City that serves roughly 31,000 meters across Baker, Union, Grant and Harney counties, its website shows. The co-op lists district offices in La Grande, John Day and Burns and says it prioritizes reliable service across a largely rural, multi-thousand-mile distribution network (OTEC).
What workers are demanding
Union negotiators are pushing for wage increases they describe as 5% in the first year and 6% in each of the next two years, Simons told the La Grande Observer. He said members see that package as modest compared with agreements at two other Oregon member-owned co-ops that total about 19% wage growth over three years.
Escalation, discipline and next steps
The union says internal discipline has only raised the temperature. Members allege a fellow lineman was fired on June 4 and that others received warning letters over call-response rules while they were not on standby. Federal mediation has been involved in bargaining for months, according to the union, and the 30-day notice now opens a window for more talks before any legal strike could begin.
What a strike would mean
A walkout by field crews could complicate outage response and repair work across OTEC’s wide rural territory, union leaders and local officials warn. As negotiations continue, the co-op’s website still lists outage and emergency contact resources, and both sides say their stated aim is to land a negotiated contract that keeps the lights on and avoids service disruption (OTEC).
