Portland's imminent return-to-office order faces backlash from city workers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland leaders and workers have once again weighed in on the looming return-to-office mandate for city employees.

Soon after Mayor Keith Wilson took office in January, he urged 700 city managers and supervisors to return to in-person work full-time by April 7. Portland City Council’s Labor & Workforce Development Committee discussed the upcoming change, a controversial one for the many workers who pivoted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a meeting on Thursday.

According to the mayor’s testimony, the push would help city leaders address certain matters — like their $93 million budget crisis — more effectively.

“We’ve seen how technology and new practices can give us increasing flexibility to help us navigate complex lives,” Wilson said. “That said, it has also shown us there is no replacement for the creative energy, team-building leadership and learning that comes from in-person managers and supervisors, this is especially important when it comes to the role of managers and nurturing our next generation of city employees.”

He noted that 60% of the city workers employed from fiscal year 2019 through 2024 were hired as new staff or promoted to new roles. In the five years beforehand, the share of new or promoted employees was just 36%.

Former Mayor Ted Wheeler also pushed for a return to the office during his term. In 2023, he urged employers in the private sector, government, educational institutions and community-based organizations to enforce an in-person workweek of at least 20 hours for their remote and hybrid staff starting the following year.

Wheeler argued that the mandate would boost foot traffic in the downtown area, therefore supporting local businesses and revitalizing public spaces.

However, several employees who testified on Thursday argued that the push for office work is discriminatory toward people with disabilities. Anna Shook, a certifying officer for Portland’s Housing Bureau, added that remote work was “not a privilege or choice” for the employees who were sent home in March 2020.

“We helped thousands of fellow Portlanders in a time of deep crisis,” Shook said. “Now, we are told at every single employee town hall that we do not show up, unlike field employees. I love this city and I am proud to work for it. This is the first time in my 18 years as a city employee that I have been disrespected by elected leaders.”

A presentation from the City of Portland’s Human Resources Director Tracy Warren shows that about 54% of the city employees work fully in-person, while about 38% have a hybrid schedule and 8% are fully remote.

Under the new mandate, officials expect a 10% increase in those that work fully in-person and a 10% decline in hybrid workers. The share of fully-remote workers would remain the same.