Portland’s police union is trying to use the labor movement to avoid budget cuts
By Erica T. and Gabriel E.
Efforts by the executive board of Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC) to affiliate the Portland Police Association (PPA) leave us no choice but to speak out as rank-and-file members of unions (AFT and Teamsters) affiliated to the NOLC. The Labor Council is the largest federation of local unions, which speaks to local and state politicians on behalf of labor.
As trade unionists, we see through this cynical attempt by the police to shield themselves from accountability and budget cuts. They’ve gotten used to bloated personnel and equipment budgets, absurd overtime payouts, and immunity for violent misconduct. But with four socialists elected to City Council, the police union is suddenly trying to brand itself as a “friend of workers.”
We don’t buy it.
For years, the police association stood by and watched while city workers faced and fought job cuts and Portland residents suffered diminished public services. Even now, with $60 million in cuts on the docket for community centers, parks, and roads, the Mayor’s proposed budget does not recommend any cuts to the police bureau. Why? Because police help enforce the business interests of the wealthy, business owners, and the capitalist class.
When City of Portland workers represented by LIUNA Local 483 struck in 2023, dozens of local unions turned members out to the picket line, bringing pallets of water and boxes of food. To be fair, the police did show up — to harass the picket at the wastewater treatment plant in North Portland. Nobody walking the picket line was sporting any PPA gear. The PPA is completely out of step with the values of organized labor.
What is a police “union” for?
Police unions do engage in collective bargaining, but their purpose extends far beyond negotiating their contract. In 2012, Portland Police officer Christopher Humphreys was suspended for beating to death James P. Chasse Jr., who was unarmed and suffering from mental illness. What was the PPA’s response? They fought to overturn the suspension and then marched through downtown, sporting signs that said, “I Am Chris Humphreys.”
Has the police union undergone some sort of rebirth since 2012? Absolutely not. The PPA’s own past immediate President, Brian Hunzeker, was fired after he and another officer colluded to leak false information about then Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty to the The Oregonian and conservative political group Coalition to Save Portland, in hopes of smearing Hardesty’s character. This misconduct cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in the subsequent settlements.
Their recent opposition to mild police accountability measures, including Resolution 2025–047 (a measure to clarify bias standards for the Community Police Oversight Board) is their latest effort to avoid accountability for extreme acts of violence and racial bias. This freedom from oversight is not a “privilege” any of us would expect, nor desire, in our own jobs and workplaces.
Also this year, PPA members used the legal authority of their jobs to intimidate labor-backed elected officials who publicly support police accountability. As The Oregonian recently documented, five on-duty officers — two wearing Portland Police Association-branded baseball caps — descended uninvited on Councilor Sameer Kanal’s February 2025 town hall. The officers, dispatched by North Precinct Commander Rob Simon, lingered silently amid constituents, creating a palpable tension that erupted in jeers from attendees.
Days later, Councilor Angelita Morillo encountered a similar tactic: two uniformed officers appeared unannounced at a Montavilla neighborhood event she attended, lurking at the back of the room without engaging attendees. When Morillo approached them for answers, they refused to identify the lieutenant who ordered their presence and abruptly departed.
Armed officers leveraging their union’s insignia and state-sanctioned authority to surveil critics not only violates principles of worker solidarity, but it erodes public trust in law enforcement’s role as community partners. We’re proud that Councilors Kanal and Morillo — both DSA members — did not concede to PPA intimidation.
Why the cops’ sudden interest in labor?
Labor unions are more popular than at any time in generations, but the percentage of Americans who say they have a “great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police” is now at 48% — a twenty-year low. It’s clear why the cops want to infiltrate the labor tent. It’s equally clear that PPA’s inclusion in the labor council would be extremely divisive, based on their recent history of intimidation, bullying, and misconduct against labor-back elected officials, and actions of intimidation at the picket lines of striking workers.
In 2020, Pacific Northwest unions turned out members to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement; many local unions passed resolutions supporting the aims of the Black Live Matter movement, including accountability for police here in Portland. Up in Seattle, the local labor council voted in 2020 to eject the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, citing the council’s commitment to dismantling racism:
“As a union movement, it’s our responsibility to fight for all forms of justice. In the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, we believe that there can be no justice without racial justice. Any union that is part of our labor council needs to be actively working to dismantle racism in their institution and society at large. Unfortunately, the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild has failed to do that work and are no longer welcome in our council.
Since the killing of George Floyd, communities of color in Seattle and around the United States have spoken loud and clear that the status quo will no longer be tolerated. We have listened to our community and responded by doing the right thing.”
As rank-and-file union members, we took our unions’ commitments to fighting racism seriously. It’s clear our comrades in other unions feel the same way. A petition backing NOLC delegates who oppose the PPA affiliation is approaching 400 signatures in less than one week; signatories are rank-and-file members of 34+ local unions from the building trades to the service sector — public workers at the City of Portland and beyond.
What’s next?
Labor Council delegates, who represent each of the affiliated locals, will vote on the PPA’s affiliation bid on April 28th. In the meantime, rank-and-file union members continue to organize to demonstrate our opposition. On April 13th at 6pm, Portland DSA Labor is hosting a Zoom event featuring author and local union member, Kristian Williams, in conversation with local union rank-and-file. Williams is the author of “Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America” as well as the forthcoming book about Portland, Policing the Progressive City. We are esteemed that retired Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Secretary-Treasure Deborah Hall will facilitate the event. RSVP here for the Zoom info.
As unionists we must see every struggle as an organizing opportunity. If you are a member of NOLC, talk to your co-workers about this issue. Ask them to oppose the addition of PPA to your Labor Council. Add your name to the growing list of unionists demanding no cops in the Labor Council!
