Closed-Door Mediation Between Portland Police Union and City Continues Into Third Month

“Pressure breeds progress and results,” the union’s Daryl Turner said in June.

October 28, 2021 2:53PM PDT

Portland police officers respond to a call in October 2021. (Brian Burk)

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Portland’s police union and the City Attorney’s Office are scheduled for their seventh closed-door mediation session Oct. 29 to hash out a collective bargaining agreement.

The parties met most recently on Oct. 22, according to the state’s Employment Relations Board, and neither the city nor the Portland Police Association has declared an impasse, which would trigger an arbitration process.

Today represents the three-month mark since the first mediation session on July 28. All told, the contract negotiation process has been lengthy: The parties are now approaching the two-year anniversary of the first session, which was held in February 2020 but was delayed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bargaining resumed this January. Then in June—once the mandatory 150-day bargaining window passed—PPA executive director Daryl Turner announced the union had initiated mediation.

“Pressure breeds progress and results,” Turner said June 14. “The PPA’s bargaining team will continue to diligently work toward a mutually agreeable contract. We look forward to the mediation process to achieve that end. The city should understand the need to reach finality on a new contract.”