MEDIA ADVISORY: City rejects CPPW compromise; strike set for multiple locations Monday, Nov. 9

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Nov. 8, 2026) PORTLAND, Ore. – After meeting with Mayor Keith Wilson during today’s mediation session, the City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) bargaining team put forward a supposal to move the parties closer and avert a strike. The City’s bargaining team rejected the compromise. Mediation concluded before 6 p.m. The next mediation session has not been confirmed. 

CPPW workers are set to strike starting 12:01 a.m., Monday, Nov. 9.

Media is advised of two primary picket locations for Monday, Nov. 9:

  • 5:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Wastewater Treatment Plant, 5001 N Columbia Blvd.:
    • Kari Koch, CPPW President, will be available for interviews ~5:30 – 7:30 a.m.
  • 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Portland City Hall, 1221 SW Fourth Ave.
    • Kari Koch, CPPW President, and Stacy Brewster, CPPW Board Member, will be on hand for interviews along with other members.  

Monday’s strike follows a 93% authorization vote by CPPW members. The 800-member union remains at odds with the City over workers’ demands for fair compensation, equitable wage increases, stability, and respect on the job.

“Despite Mayor Wilson’s acknowledgment today that a CPPW strike would have a profound impact on City services, he continues to say publicly that services will not be disrupted,” said CPPW’s bargaining team after mediation wrapped up. 

“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that the City continues to bargain with us in bad faith,” said Kari Koch, President of CPPW. “As one example, the City’s formula for calculating the costing of our offer includes about 100 vacant positions amid a hiring freeze. They’ve been publicly sharing last-ditch talking points comparing our members’ salaries to those in other cities. This is data we dispute and which they never brought to the bargaining table over the last 11 months.”