Month: April 2024

The only way – only way! – to win a strong contract is to have an active and engaged membership. You would be a part of engaging people to stay informed and take action on issues that matter to our careers, our families, and our future.

The Contract Action Team (CAT) connects what’s happening at the bargaining table to membership and to the broader community. CAT leads the fight to support bargaining through coordinated communication, activities, and actions, while our bargaining team leads the fight at the table by making CPPW demands directly to the City. 

Now there are two ways to connect with CAT for the 2026 CPPW reopener!

Contract Action Team Member & CAT Communicator
(Click through the links to sign up)

Contract Action Team Member

The network of members that organizes events and activities to support bargaining and other campaigns

You will: 

• Get early information and insider scoop on bargaining issues;​
• Be a point of contact for the union; hand out buttons, share virtual background with colleagues.​
• Help with event planning. Events include: union visibility days, phone banking events, info sessions, bargaining day attendance, practice pickets, union socials, etc.​​
• Get information out to members – ask people to take bargaining surveys, message out bargaining information, give out bargaining update fliers.

CAT Communicator (A new option for 2026)

The mycelium of our union, moving information through the membership! Pass information out to your coworkers about bargaining, activities, and the union. Listen to your coworkers and bring that information back to the Contract Action Team.

You will: 

• Keep information flowing from the bargaining table to your coworkers. Send out emails or teams messages to a small number of your coworkers to let them know what’s going on. (language will be provided!)
• Hand out physical fliers in your workspace (if able)
• Attend your union’s bargaining events and encourage your coworkers to join you
• Host lunch and learns or info sessions with the bargaining team and CAT members to meet with your coworkers about issues in your work group.

How this process works in 6 simple steps

1. Team Building: Build a Bargaining Team! CPPW members elected a 9 member (+ 1 alternate) bargaining team from around the City to represent the whole membership at the table. See your bargaining team here. Then, hire a lawyer to support the bargaining team during negotiations – CPPW’s lawyer is Katelyn Oldham. Done and done!
2. Scheduling and Agreements: Set ground rules with the City and schedule bargaining meetings – this happened on January 24th.
3. Negotiations & Action: Each side exchange proposals and caucuses to negotiate at meetings – this will happen during meetings scheduled between March – July 2024. Union members are encouraged to participate in this process by attending bargaining sessions, offering testimony of your experiences, taking bargaining surveys to prioritize issues, and taking action to show the City how committed we are to winning a strong contract. The #1 way to get a strong contract is to have powerful action by the members during negotiations.
4. Assess: The initial bargaining period is legally a minimum of 150 days, after that we see where we are at and what needs to happen. If needed, both sides can agree to continue bargaining or the process can go to mediation.
5. TA: Tentative agreement is reached. The City send the tentative agreement to City Council for approval and CPPW sends it to our membership for a vote (you must be card signed member to vote!)
6. Ratification Vote: When the the majority of membership (and City Council) vote to approve the tentative agreement – our first contract is ratified!

Our contract is inspired and informed by you!

CPPW sent out surveys in September 2023 and March 2024, hosted bargaining info sessions with members, discussed issues at membership meetings, took straw polls, and hosted open contract work sessions to gathered critical info on what is important to our union members.

The people are our power, and we need your continued involvement to win this contract!

Do you want to observe this process? Email us at bargaining@cppwunion.org to join in person during a bargaining session or submit an accommodation request to observe virtually.

Top Bargaining Priorities

Key issues that we’re fighting for at the bargaining table

1. Increased Wages: COLAs and step pay increases (these occur regularly over the length of your employment and are not merit based) are the best methods of sustaining living wages during employment with the City of Portland. We’ll be fighting for these benefits for all of our members.
2. Classifications: Members want clarity and accountability when it comes to ambiguous classifications. We’re advocating for a contract that keeps employees protected from working out of class and classifications that have clearly defined responsibilities.
3. Flexible Work Schedules: We’re fighting for a contract that allows members to work when and where is best for them and their programs! Some members are fully in person because of the nature of their jobs, some are fully remote, most are currently hybrid. We want a contract that supports flexible work schedules and locations. We are competent, trusted professional that can accomplish our goals, connect with our team, and do our work from where ever makes for sense you and your program.
4. SuccessFactors: We’re saying no to SuccessFactors tied to merit increases. Instead we’re opting for COLAs and step pay increases (#1 above), and instead using SuccessFactors as a tool for developing clear work goals and regular work check ins. We deserve feedback, check ins, and clear expectations from our managers.
5. Overtime and Management Leave: Are you working overtime? Do you want access to overtime? You should be fairly compensated and get premium pay when you work more than your assigned hours! Management Leave is an important benefit to members, so we’re focusing on a creating a similar leave banks that is equitable and accessible to all members when they meet the expectations of their roles – an Earned Leave option.