From your CPPW Strike Committee
After the City and Mayor Wilson shut down contract mediation last Thursday, CPPW’s Strike Committee voted to formally declare our intent to strike.
In Monday’s emergency general membership meeting, your union leadership explained the situation and announced the call for CPPW members to strike beginning Monday, Nov. 9. Your union is required to provide at least 10 days notice of our intent to strike. That formal notice will go to city and state officials this week.
Hit the link for the full email, including:
- What happened
- Before the strike — Work to rule
- We win this together or not at all
- Upcoming events
What happened
Mayor Wilson and his City Administrators have decided your work does not matter and is not valuable enough to prioritize through contract negotiations.
The mayor and his team told us they have nothing else for us at the bargaining table unless something changes.
This means we either accept the City’s second-rate offer—which, with inflation, amounts to a pay cut—or we declare our intent to strike.
Earlier this month, your overwhelming vote to authorize a strike meant one thing was clear: we can’t settle for the City’s final offer.
We have had enough of being treated as disposable; enough of being treated as second-class workers; enough of holding this City together through bad management decision after bad management decision. Enough!
We are declaring our intention to strike starting Monday, Nov 9.
Before the strike—work to rule
During a strike, do not report to work and do not use any City systems or property. Don’t check your email. Don’t check on your Teams chat. Shut off or hand in city laptops and phones.
But striking is more than just withholding your labor.
We show up on the picket line to demonstrate together and show our employer that the services Portlanders rely on don’t happen without us.
You must prepare yourselves and fellow members to strike.
This isn’t a planned vacation where you clear your plate before a trip.
The goal is to demonstrate that work doesn’t get done if you’re gone.
Right now, the rule to remember is WORK TO RULE. No working out-of-class if you’re not compensated. No voluntary, unpaid going the extra mile. By working to rule together, you show management just how much invisible, uncompensated labor keeps daily operations at the City running.
We win this together or not at all
Your union needs you to win this fight.
Join a strike sub-committee. Strikes need support on the line and at home.
Join a strike sub-committee and build solidarity on the line and in the community, help members coordinate benefits, organize and support one another around caregiving, and get access to hardship funds.
Get familiar with resources – We got us
Start with swag:
Change your virtual background and profile picture today to ones from the strike pack we just launched.
Visit the updated CPPW Strike Hub:
- Learn what you need to do to prepare for a strike
- Get answers to your questions like: What does a strike look like? What if I have vacation scheduled? Will I have health insurance during a strike? And much, much more.
- Explore the updated finances and unemployment resources page
Need to catch up on what’s going on?
Learn how we got here and review presentation slides from recent general membership meetings and info sessions.
Upcoming events
- Wed. Oct. 28: Strike Benefits Committee
- Wed. Oct. 28: Contract Action Team Meeting
- Thur. Oct. 29: Strike Info Session
- Fri. Oct. 30: Picket sign prep and art build with Roger Peet
- Sat. Nov. 7: Picket Captain/Crew Training and Logistics Prep