City of Portland Professional Workers Union
A union dedicated to the professional workers at the City of Portland
Update – COLAs are confirmed! Merit Raises tied to SuccessFactors are considered part of Status Quo and will continue for July 2023.
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Pay increases and true cost of living adjustments are core reasons why we all came together to organize this union! CPPW is committed to getting our full and deserved pay increases this coming fiscal year.
Continue reading Are we going to get COLAs and Merit raises?
The CPPW was victorious in its election to represent the over 700 professional workers of the City of Portland! The result was 306 for and 68 against. The 385 total ballots represented a 52% turnout of the 712 workers who were allowed to participate in the election under our Memorandum of Understanding with the City. Seven ballots were spoiled (no signature) and four ballots are under dispute with the City. This vote reflects 81.8% support for unionization.
“City workers came out strong to say that we want a voice at the table,” said Kari Koch, CPPW Organizing Committee President. “CPPW members hold critical jobs in the city. We keep programs running, turn raw data into meaningful policy options, balance the books, and are helping guide Portland through the charter reform transitions. Our members work hard for the City and now are organizing for the respect we deserve.”
CPPW’s victory makes it the second largest independent union in the state of Oregon after the farmworker union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) and the ninth largest public sector independent union in the nation.
“This is a historic day for our members and for Portland,” said CPPW Organizing Committee Secretary Robert Pineda. “When budgets have tightened in the past, as they inevitably do, it’s been our members who’ve felt the sting of budget cuts, furloughs, and layoffs first. While our unionized coworkers got the regular salary increases they deserved, and their rightful seat at the table to negotiate how best to deal with budget cuts, our members were lucky if they got two percent annual performance raises and are often the first ones on the chopping block. No more.
Updated: City Council passed a tentative 2023-24 budget on May 17th that put more than 100 jobs at risk of layoff in bureaus funded by fees. Mayor Wheeler proposed last minute rollbacks of fee and utility costs that will mean budget cuts and likely layoffs. Read OPB’s coverage here.
CPPW is asking – how can we preserve services and support the people who make this city work? With our strong union, we can push back against Council’s bad budget decisions and will have more protections during layoffs than we have alone.
Union Vote is Here!
We have been working hard to build this union and the next big step is here – the union election.
The election will be held by confidential mailed ballot and will ask if you want to be represented by City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW). A Yes vote is a vote to have a voice on issues that affect our lives at work and at home!
The current system of Management Leave is mysterious, confusing, and inequitable. We can do better!
Management Leave is a City policy (HRAR 8.03) that grants up to 80 hours of additional paid leave per calendar year to non-represented employees “who are not eligible for overtime compensation” with the intent to “recognize exceptional additional individual efforts, performance, and achievements, including but not limited to beyond the standard workweek.”
Management Leave can be granted to non-represented employees at the discretion of their supervisor and bureau director. In practice, a small number of employees get the full 80 hours of additional leave each year. Some of us get less than 80 hours a year. Some of us are denied Management Leave altogether. And others have never known that getting Management Leave is an option.
