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