The Portland Police Association is an independent labor organization representing the 900 Police Officers, Sergeants, Detectives and Criminalists who work for the Portland Police Bureau. We are the oldest continuous police union in the United States. Our primary mission is to secure and improve wages, benefits and working conditions for our members.
The PPA bargains under the auspices of Oregon’s Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act, which was signed into law in 1973. Most often, the PPA has been successful in negotiating contract settlements. On the two occasions the PPA has been forced to resort to the binding arbitration process, it has prevailed, winning much higher wages and benefits than the City was willing to offer.
The PPA provides a host of advocacy services for our members. We represent officers in the discipline process, through the grievance procedure, and in critical incidents, coordinate an off-duty secondary employment program, and advocate our members’ interests in the State Legislature, before Portland’s City Council, and before various governmental and quasi-governmental committees and study groups.