One City of Portland union overwhelmingly votes to authorize strike—another launches their strike vote today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PORTLAND – City workers represented by the City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) voted 93% to authorize a strike, the union announced Friday. The 800-member union said it’s at odds with the City over workers’ demands for fair compensation, equitable wage increases, stability, and respect on the job.

At the same time, another City union, LiUNA Local 483, is initiating their membership strike authorization vote today, Monday, Oct 19. LiUNA, representing more than 2000 members, moved to mediation with the City of Portland as negotiations on the Portland City Laborers contract were delayed.

Together, these two unions make up roughly 40% of the entire City workforce with staff in every City bureau and office. 

“Our members provide services that Portlanders care about, and we would rather be serving the community than be forced to go out on strike,” says Kari Koch, CPPW President. 

“Our members have watched the City, time and time again, balance its budget on the backs of its workforce while paying out millions on things like executive severances, contracts to nowhere, and enough wasteful spending to fill a landfill. Enough is enough,” Koch says. “We are asking the Mayor to invest in the services Portlanders care about and, us, the workers who provide those services.”

Actions this week

These unions will be packing the evening City Council on Wednesday, Oct. 21 and leading information pickets on Thursday, Oct. 22 at Westmoreland Park and Kerby Yard to show support for investing in services and workers by settling these contracts. 

CPPW is back in mediation with the City on Thursday, Oct. 22. LiUNA’s next mediation is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27.

CPPW’s workers are prepared to strike as early as Nov. 1, after Oregon’s required 30-day cooling off period. CPPW represents every analyst, coordinator, admin specialist, financial analyst, technology business rep, and other essential positions across every bureau and office. A CPPW strike would impact programs and services citywide, from parks to public engagement, from water quality to victim advocacy, from payroll to purchasing, and everything in between. 

Myrna Ortiz, a union member, works as a victims advocate for the Portland Police Bureau. She supports crime victims through the investigation and trial. Ortiz sees a lot of burnout among staff in her area of work. High staff turnover rates mean high costs for the City. A fair union contract could help, she says. 

“We’re seeking equity with other City workers and fair compensation for hours worked,” Ortiz says. “Whether we are responding to crises from home or in the field, we deserve to be fairly compensated for the work we do supporting Portlanders through some of the most difficult, tragic experiences of their lives.” 

Impacts of a Strike

Will Tucker, CPPW member based at the City’s Waste Water Treatment Plant described how a strike would impact the City: 

“I order parts for the sewage pump stations. There are 99 sewage pump stations and two treatment plants that service the City of Portland. If I’m not on the job there’s nobody to replace the parts that make sure sewage flows properly. When pump stations aren’t working properly, basements back up, sewage overflows. Having myself and my coworkers fixing problems, coordinating maintenance, and on-call for emergencies keeps Portland clean & safe.” 

Water Quality Emergency Responder Matt Weatherly, “I work on risk management and emergency response for Portland’s water system, including compliance with the state and the EPA. Things do go wrong, main breaks, other emergencies. My job is to respond to those emergencies and keep our tap water flowing for residents, water for commerce, and even water for things like fire fighting. Water access is extremely important. Me and I coworkers might not be visible, but our work is essential to Portlanders.”

CPPW President Kari Koch said the overwhelming majority of workers voting to authorize a strike shows the union is united and its members are determined to win a fair contract. 

“This is the membership speaking loud and clear,” Koch said of the strike vote. “If the City keeps showing up to the bargaining table with nothing, they give us no other choice but to strike – and we are prepared to do so.” 

CPPW estimates the City’s drawn-out bargaining and mediation is costly for Portland taxpayers. The two sides have been in bargaining for 10 months. The union estimates the mediation costs about $11,000 a day. 

Other essential services CPPW members provide are: 

  • Processing payroll for 8,000 City workers
  • Maintenance and emergency coordination in all public works and public safety bureaus
  • Releasing and processing millions of dollars in grants and contracts to local business and community organizations
  • Emergency and crisis communications
  • Processing licenses and permits for programs like cannabis and liquor
  • On-call response for victims of serious crimes like human trafficking
  • Keeping the City in compliance with local, state, and federal rules
  • Handling public records requests for community members and media on legal deadlines
  • Maintaining the City’s vehicle fleet 

Background

The City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) represents roughly 800 workers across every office and bureau in the City. Formed in 2023, CPPW is one of the City’s newest unions, representing the City’s administrative specialists, analysts, coordinators, financial analysts, multimedia specialists, and technology business representatives. CPPW members do the essential, often invisible work of keeping every public program, project, and operation running.  

The City of Portland has been in active bargaining with CPPW for nine months on a reopener, an agreement in the June 2025 contract to renegotiate certain articles in January 2026. Priorities for CPPW members at the bargaining table include basic COLA, standard wage increases, and layoff protections on par with other union contracts. CPPW has been bargaining with the City since January and has been in mediation since August 25.

About LiUNA:

LiUNA Local 483 represents more than 2000 employees across Environmental Services, Permitting & Development, Parks and Recreation, Fire, PBOT, Fleet, Water and Police. Our wastewater services protect our rivers. We repair bridges, roads, sidewalks and bikeways. We maintain Portland’s Gold Medal parks system and provide safety and assistance to keep the parks user-friendly for everyone. We keep community centers running with programming for the whole community. We are the first to respond in weather emergencies like snow and ice events and heavy flooding. From maintenance workers to park rangers, from landscape crews to recreation and aquatics coordinators, as public workers we work hard to maintain a high quality of life for the people of Portland.

LiUNA’s Portland City Laborers (PCL), Recreation (REC) and Seasonal Maintenance Worker (SMW) contracts are all in the bargaining process. Bargaining on the LiUNA PCL contract (which expired on July 1) began on Feb. 18. Mediation began Sept. 22. Bargaining on the Recreation contract (which expired Sept. 30) began on Feb. 12 and is headed to mediation. Bargaining for the SMW contract (expired Sept. 30) began in February and is also in mediation.

Media Contacts: 

Kari Koch

Ryan Sotomayor