Workers in Portland’s legacy police oversight program voted Nov. 17 to ratify a new contract that fell short of the job protections the unit had fought for.
The 11 Independent Police Review (IPR) workers represented by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 189 struck Nov. 5-7 over one issue: job security when the city transitions to a new police oversight system.
Portland voters approved a ballot measure five years ago to create a new police oversight system. That new system is intended to replace the current program, IPR, with a program that has greater power to investigate and discipline police officers.
Workers in the current system want to continue working in the new system, but the city refused to guarantee them employment in the agency that replaces IPR. The new contract does guarantee workers will be offered positions doing similar work for the city, but not necessarily within police oversight.
IPR workers started bargaining in March and moved to mediation in August.
In a statement released in response to the strike, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the city values the Independent Police Review workers but that under the city charter, staffing decisions for the new oversight office must be made by the office’s director. The city has yet to hire a director for the new oversight system.
Jennings said that while IPR workers were on strike, Wilson wasn’t available to “help creatively problem-solve and reach an agreement that considered a fuller analysis of the City Charter and Code.” A city spokesperson confirmed Wilson was out of the country during the strike, attending a climate action conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Unlike previous offers from the city, the contract IPR workers approved says the city won’t start external hiring for positions in the new oversight system until all interested IPR workers get interviews with the new office’s director. The city will also urge the new office’s director to hire current IPR employees. Employees who don’t stay with the city will receive a month of paid administrative leave. The new contract also maintains union representation in the replacement system.
