Portland city workers vote to authorize strike amid contract dispute

Portland city workers vote to authorize strike amid contract dispute

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - City of Portland employees represented by the City of Portland Professional Workers Union (CPPW) have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, union officials announced on Thursday.

With 88% of members participating, 92% voted in favor of the strike as the union pushes for its first contract after more than a year of negotiations. The CPPW, formed in 2023, represents about 800 professional staff across the city government.

As of May 16, the city’s final offer is $7 million in new spending over the next 2.5 years. This includes a 2.4% cost-of-living wage increase for all members, as well as three additional personal days for fully in-person CPPW employees.

Under this agreement, negotiations on wages and other contract terms can be revisited in January 2026.

CPPW leadership says the proposal does not meet their needs for longevity pay, vacation cash-out, and protections around AI.

“The city has told us that layoffs are coming. Our members deserve protection,” said CPPW President Kari Koch.

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CPPW members help provide services in the city including managing homeless programs, coordinating emergency communications, processing licenses and permits, overseeing city finances, and maintaining infrastructure like utilities and vehicle fleets.

Workers could walk off the job as early as June 9 if a contract agreement is not reached.

“If the city were to force CPPW to strike essential services such as setting up and coordinating the Mayor’s overnight shelters responding to unsanctioned camping, as well as engaging outreach to our city’s most vulnerable would be immediately and drastically impacted due to the time sensitive nature of our work, a said a CPPW member during a City Council budget session Wednesday.

A city spokesperson told FOX 12 that in the event of a work stoppage, the city is preparing to continue essential services without interruption.

But the longer it takes to reach an agreement, Koch said, the city is facing greater financial loss.

“By our estimation, this costs the city $14,000 a day to keep mediating on issues that cost them nothing. The protections that we’re asking for are cost-neutral, and in a time of budget crisis, that’s what the city should be offering to its workers,” Koch said.

The next mediation session between the city and CPPW is scheduled for May 28.