About 800 Portland city workers walked off the job Monday, Nov. 9, after a last-ditch mediation session collapsed Sunday.
The City of Portland Professional Workers (CPPW) launched the strike at 12:01 a.m., according to KGW. The union said its bargaining team brought a compromise proposal to Sunday's mediation with Mayor Keith Wilson, but the city's team rejected it. Mediation ended before 6 p.m., and no new session has been scheduled.
The walkout touches nearly every city bureau. CPPW members process payroll for 8,000 city employees, support 911 and police and fire operations, coordinate emergency response, and staff the Portland Clean Energy Fund. Preschool and after-school programs at Portland Parks community centers could also be affected, according to KGW.
"It's disappointing, but not surprising, that the city continues to bargain with us in bad faith," CPPW President Kari Koch said in a statement released Sunday.
The city said on its website that it has plans to maintain public safety, infrastructure and other services during the strike. A city spokesperson told KPTV on Sunday that the city "is prepared to maintain essential services," noting CPPW is one of 17 bargaining units among the city's 7,500 workers.
The city did not detail specific contingency plans in its public statements.
The union announced two picket sites for Monday: the Wastewater Treatment Plant at 5001 North Columbia Blvd., from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Portland City Hall at 1221 Southwest Fourth Ave., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What the fight is about
Pay is the central dispute. The two sides have been bargaining for about 10 months over a reopener in a June 2025 contract. CPPW members are seeking cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), wage increases and layoff protections on par with other city union contracts.
The union estimates its proposal would cost an additional $9.3 million, or about 7%, over two fiscal years, according to the Portland Mercury.
The city's offer, posted on its bargaining updates page, includes a 3% COLA retroactive to July 1, 2026, a projected COLA of 1% to 4% in July 2027, and a $1,000 bonus.
The city calculated its total offer at about $9.1 million through Dec. 31, 2027. It calculated the union's proposal at roughly $19.8 million.
Koch disputed those numbers. She said the city's formula counts about 100 vacant positions despite a hiring freeze, inflating the cost of the union's proposal, according to KOIN.
Members authorized the strike with a 93% vote. The union declared impasse in late September and submitted final offers to the state on Oct. 1, starting a 30-day cooling-off period that has now expired.
What residents may feel
The union represents nearly every worker at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management. Mike Grimm, an emergency management coordinator and CPPW member, said in a union press release that he keeps the 911 operations floor and a backup call center ready. "If a strike happens, equipment that breaks down would take longer to get repaired," Grimm said.
Residents can still call 911. Call operators are not CPPW members, according to the Mercury. But the union said support staff who maintain the system and fix malfunctions will be off the job.
Koch also said a strike could delay distribution of Portland Clean Energy Fund grants, according to KGW. CPPW members also handle public records requests, license and permit processing, and city vehicle fleet maintenance, according to the union's Nov. 5 press release.
No date for the next mediation session had been set as of Sunday evening.
