FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Oct. 29, 2026) PORTLAND, OR – City workers represented by the City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) have notified the City of their intent to strike beginning Nov. 9 in response to City leadership’s failure to settle a fair contract. This announcement comes after CPPW membership voted 93% to authorize a strike. 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.
Immediate impact
CPPW represents analysts, coordinators, admin specialists, financial analysts, technology business representatives, and other essential positions across every bureau and office.
A Nov. 9 strike would immediately disrupt a broad array of city services, everything from victim support to water quality, public engagement to critical financial analysis right as bureaus must develop budgets for the Mayor for next fiscal year.
CPPW member Lauren Bailey, a records coordinator at the Portland Police Bureau, how they already deal with understaffing and how the community relies on their work. “We’re already behind on a backlog of records requests from both the public and other agencies. Our work is often essential for agencies like DHS Child Welfare, who rely on it to decide whether a home is safe for a child, and for the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, who use it to determine whether someone’s parole should be revoked,” Bailey says.
“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. “The City kept showing up at the bargaining table with nothing. They have given us no choice but to strike for a fair deal.”
“Our members have watched the City balance its budget on the backs of its workers while paying out millions on things like executive severances, contracts to nowhere, and new layers of management.” Koch says. “We are asking the Mayor to invest in the services Portlanders care about and in us, the workers who provide those services.”
Real Costs
Financial figures the union submitted to the state Oct. 1 show an estimated $9.3 million increase or a 7% increase in the total cost of their contract over two fiscal years, on par with every other union contract at the City that factors in wage growth. The union’s costing is also similar to what the City claimed in their state filings was available for this contract (estimated at $9 million).
At issue is the way the City calculates what the union is asking for its members, including fair wages and longevity pay. “We represent all the financial analysts at the city and stand by our numbers. The City inflated their estimate of our costs by getting creative with the math and the fiscal calendar,” Chris Gustafson, CPPW Treasurer and Financial Analyst in the Housing Bureau said. “They lay off our members and hold positions vacant because of a hiring freeze, then turn around and say those empty positions cost too much, said Gustafson.”
Impacts of a Strike
City workers say they are doing their best to serve the Portland community despite under staffing, constant reorganizations, and low morale. They are willing to take this kind of action to improve conditions for workers and for fair compensation for the essential services they provide.
Phil Keim, a CPPW member, works in Garbage, Recycling, and Compost. Keim points out that the community is going to immediately feel the impact of his 12-person team going on strike. “Garbage overflow could be exacerbated by a slowed response from the City,” Keim says. “This could result in degraded living conditions and public health concerns for our community. If we strike, my team of 12 people would have one manager trying to fill in and cover all our responsibilities — an impossible task.”
Will Tucker, a CPPW member based at the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant shares the impacts of his team: “There are 99 sewage pump stations and two treatment plants that service the City of Portland. If I’m not on the job, no one will be there to make sure they have what is needed so that sewage flows properly. When pump stations aren’t working properly, basements back up, sewage overflows. Having me and my coworkers fixing problems, coordinating maintenance, and being on-call for emergencies keeps Portland clean and safe.”
Water Quality Emergency Responder Matt Weatherly describes: “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. My coworkers and I might not be visible, but our work is essential to Portlanders.”
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.
The City of Portland has been in active bargaining with CPPW for ten 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 real cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), standard wage increases, and layoff protections on par with other union contracts. CPPW has been bargaining with the City since January. They declared impasse in late September and submitted final offers to the state on Oct. 1, kicking off a 30-day cooling off period. This week, CPPW issued the formal 10-day strike notice for Nov. 9.
Media contact
Kari Koch, CPPW President, 580-716-4729 (cell), president@cppwunion.org