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The city of Portland declared an impasse Monday in its 11-month contract negotiations with the District Council of Trade Unions. Its 1,600 members include laborers, machinists, engineers, electricians and other city staffers.

At issue is language written in the 1970s requiring the city to justify how it contracts out work, DCTU spokeswoman Megan Hise said. The requirement was written into the contract to protect family-wage jobs, she said.

“We want to protect that language – it has been in the contract for decades,” she said. “We want the city to have to show that contracting out can clearly create cost savings.”

City officials, choosing not to respond to union comments, confirmed to the Oregon Employment Relations Board that they had declared an impasse in negotiations with the union. As part of state protocol, both parties must submit their final offers and cost summaries to the board by Monday, according to the city.