Category: Bargaining
2026 Bargaining Timeline
CPPW Bargaining Reopener Timeline
Prepare for bargaining
We won our first contract by organizing together. Now it’s open again. Four articles are open for bargaining: Article 16-Wages, Article 22-Reductions in Workforce & Layoffs, Article 24-Hours of Work, and Article 27-Standby and Callback Pay.
Direct bargaining
Parties meet to review proposals with a legal obligation to bargain for at least 150 days in attempt to reach an agreement.
Mediation – we are here
If the parties do not reach agreement after 150 days, either party can initiate the mediation process. Mediation lasts a minimum of 15 days.
Impasse
If an agreement isn’t reached during mediation, either party can declare an impasse. Within 7 days of impasse, both parties must submit their final contract offers to the mediator.
Cooling off period
A 30-day cooling-off period follows the publication of the final offers. During this time, the parties may continue to resolve disputes.
CPPW can strike
If no agreement is reached to this point, the City can implement its final proposal without union approval. And, CPPW can strike to demand a better contract than the City’s final offer.
Notes
A “Bargaining Reopener” follows the same steps and timeline as bargaining, following the rules laid out in the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA). Tentative Agreement can be reached at any time. Then, City Council and CPPW card-signed members will vote to ratify or reject the contract.
We won our first contract by organizing together. Now it’s open again.
This reopener is about compensation and recognition for the work we do and the skills we bring – plus the protections we deserve.
Watch the video to see how you and your coworkers work together to win the strong contract we all deserve.
Tentative Agreement Reached
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Friday, May 23, 2025
Contact: Leigh Shelton 503-875-8410 or leighsheltonmcleod@gmail.com
City of Portland Professional Workers Union and City reach tentative agreement
One day after announcing strike authorization, proposed deal paves way for professional workers’ first contract
PORTLAND – The bargaining team for the City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) has reached a tentative agreement with the City for its first-ever contract.
Next, members will have the chance to ratify the proposed deal through a vote.
The union represents 800 professional staff doing essential City services across nearly every bureau, and who have been working without a contract since voting overwhelmingly to unionize in 2023. For many workers, it’s their first time in a union.
“It’s exhilarating to have the city recognize the value of our work and have it codified in a first contract,” said Dr. Robert Layne, a senior communications strategist in Portland Solutions, and first-time union member who testified in front of City Council about negotiations on Thursday.
Layne says he plans to vote “yes” on the agreement.
Dozens of CPPW members have testified in front of City Council over the past year to describe the crucial yet often invisible work they do to keep Portland operating. Members also voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, the union announced on Thursday, with 92% voting in support. The tentative deal means a strike is off.
CPPW President Kari Koch said the first contract includes expansive layoff and recall protections to meet the needs of a changing City structure, wage increases and cost of living adjustments, an additional one-time leave bonus for eligible members, flexibility and protections for remote work, and a formal grievance process.
“This tentative agreement is a monumental win for our union,” said Koch. “I’m so proud of our united and determined members who volunteered thousands of hours to make this agreement possible.”
Anamaría Pérez, a data analyst in the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and volunteer on the union bargaining team, said the 15-month experience helped her build deep relationships with her co-workers. “They were my co-workers who I didn’t know. Now they’re my friends,” Pérez said. “This experience reaffirmed that solidarity and collective action works.”
Perez said the union negotiated a “solid” first contract.
“I’m feeling joy, pride and relief that we achieved such a solid contract,” said Perez.
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For more information, visit cppwunion.org, or contact Leigh Shelton at 503-875-8410 to interview a union official or member.
Bargaining Update – 4/25 Mediation Session
In two mediation sessions this week, CPPW stayed strong on our priorities.
TL;DR – We are still making progress, so have not reached impasse. But we are also getting much clearer on the places where the City is refusing to move and meet the needs of their workers.
New alignment with the City:
- Working out of Class – Paid 5% for working out of class after day one.
- Overtime: Hours paid in a week count towards overtime accumulation, not just hours worked. If you work overtime one day but also take a sick day, you still get overtime pay for those hours worked over 40.
- Deferred holidays – 2 end-of-year rollover for everyone & 10 roll over for members with alternative work schedules. All deferred holidays paid out as part of City layoff package.
- Expansion of Standby pay to include BES Comms staff.
- Promotions get 5% pay increase.
- Tribal and Citizenship Leave on City paid time (similar to jury duty). Time off does not come out of accruals.
- Contract Duration – Contract ends Dec 31, 2027 (bonus: aligns with end of AFSCME 189 contract) and agree to a reopen economics, layoff protections and a few other articles that will be affected by the Classification redesign in Jan 2026.
CPPW Movement:
- Telework/Work location is still a top priority. And, the City has given us a hard no on our proposal to limit the City’s ability to control our worksite location. We have to reckon with the reality that we cannot legally strike over this issue, so our power at the bargaining table is limited to secure hybrid as standard or solidify the status quo.
- The Bargaining Team has pivoted and is focusing on putting whatever parameters around our right to maintain current telework agreements, request new agreements, and put up guardrails into the contract to delay any return to office mandates.
- CPPW has political power around telework – just like we stopped the Mayor’s in-person mandate in January, we will keep working outside the bargaining table to secure the flexibility we deserve!
No Movement:
- Economics – the City wants a 2% across the board wage increase, CPPW wants 4%. CPPW holds strong on 2% longevity pay. These increases are modest, reasonable, and have a very small impact on City budget.
- CPPW members lost nearly 2000 hours of earned vacation time this year. We are holding strong on vacation cash out for up to 40 hours a year.
- CPPW members at PBEM are working nearly 650 hours of uncompensated standby every year. PBEM is claiming poverty despite the nearly 1:1 manager to staff ratio in the bureau and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on outside contractors. This cost is around $50,000 – they can afford it! We hold firm that these are essential staff who deserve to be paid for their work!
- Performance Incentive Leave – Incentivize strong performance with additional leave of up to 40 hours each year.
- Layoff protections – The City proposed a new system based on time in current classification and seniority protections by classification within a bureau (the term ‘Bureau’ includes newly created ‘offices’ like Administrator and central services as well). CPPW pushed back to add Service Area to seniority protection placement. The City rejected this expansion.
- Protections for layoff, discipline, or management by AI software.