Bargaining Brief 11/26

Nov 27, 2023

PAT family,

We did it! Together!!

Today, the PAT Team announced a tentative agreement with Portland Public Schools—with historic gains for educators and families. Together, we stood together for the schools that Portland deserves.

Thousands of us rallied and marched for 15 days. We won.

The Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) signed a tentative agreement with Portland Public Schools (PPS) Sunday afternoon that included expanded language on target class sizes and caseloads including new committees to discuss growing class sizes, improved overage thresholds that cover new classifications of educators, and a guarantee of 410 minutes of protected planning time for educators at every grade level. Additional gains include the largest 3-year cost-of-living wage increases over three years in PAT history, and critical contract language that protects students and educators from unsafe building conditions like extreme classroom temperatures along with additional investments in school upgrades.

This is contract is a watershed moment for Portland students, families, and educators. Educators have secured improvements on all our key issues. These changes will make a huge difference on priorities like mental health supports for students, educator workload relief, and safe and welcoming school environments. Educators walked picket lines alongside families, students, and allies - and because of that, our schools are getting the added investment they need.

We Won:

Improved class size and caseload language, and shared decision making committees involving educators and parents;
Increased access to mental health support teams for students throughout the district;
Stronger protections for students and educators from environmental hazards like extreme temperatures and mold;
A first ever contract article dedicated to special education;
13.75% COLA over three years: 6.25%, 4.5%, and 3%;
Expanded access to the bilingual stipend, so more bilingual educators will receive stipends;
And more

“Educators in Portland made incredible sacrifices to secure this historic contract,” said OEA President Reed Scott-Schwalbach. “This is a transformative deal that will improve the lives of students in Portland and have far reaching positive effects for our students across the rest of the state.”

Of the historic agreement, NEA President Becky Pringle said “The members of the Portland Association of Teachers have worked tirelessly to ensure that students and educators have access to the positive, safe, and healthy working and learning environments they deserve. Through their collaborative efforts with parents, the school district, and the community, they have guaranteed that students and teachers return to improved schools. The steadfast dedication and unity shown have not only strengthened Portland Public Schools but have set a powerful example to districts across the nation. When we organize and work together, we can create positive change and foster an environment where teachers and students alike can thrive.”

Students return to school on Monday, November 27^th after a two-hour delay. More information coming soon about the ratification process.

In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team

Angela Bonilla, President

Bargaining Brief 11-25

Nov 25, 2023

Hello Educators,

PAT presented a back to work proposal to PPS this morning that would enable kids to return to classes as early as Monday afternoon. The district has had that proposal since about 12:30.

Both the union membership and board must ratify the agreement to conclude the strike. PAT knows how important the ratification process is for our 3,500+ members. We are prepared to take that critical step once the contract receives board approval so students and educators can be back in classrooms as soon as possible.

In Solidarity,

Angela Bonilla, President

Bargaining Brief 11/21

Nov 21, 2023

A message from PAT President Angela Bonilla:

I wanted to share an update about what’s been a tense and frustrating few days.

As we shared in yesterday’s update, the PAT bargaining team spent 24 hours in a marathon bargaining session Sunday. We came to a settlement package with the PPS bargaining team, including Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, with significant gains for educators and students. The PPS bargaining team recommended the deal to the board members present at bargaining, and three hours later we were told that the deal was rejected by the board.

To have the deal pulled after working so hard, and making tough compromises to win on our key issues, was incredibly frustrating. It has kept us from getting to go out to meet and facilitate member conversations about the settlement, and to provide answers and context to your questions.

PPS has been posting proposals that are out of date and out of context, causing confusion and misinformation for families and educators. I want to be clear - the deal we reached at the table makes improvements on each of our key issues and demands.

Some of the improvements include:

Class size committees with parent involvement
Expanded overage pay
Added planning time and planning days
Increased cost of living adjustments
Added mental health staff
Safe building protections

We knew this was a long term fight for great public schools for all in Portland. This deal includes key wins today, while also building a foundation for bigger improvements in the future. And, just as importantly, we are growing and showing our power at every school site across the city while making deep and lasting connections with our families and our community.

Today was a beautiful action on Burnside Bridge. Seeing thousands of you out marching reminded us of what we are fighting for and why we stand strong for what our educators and students need.

Our position is that there is an agreement that the PPS bargaining team recommended, that was a total package and the board needs to vote that agreement up so that we can start the ratification process.

PAT’s ratification process is centered in member voice and member involvement. The PAT Executive Board will be convened and asked to vote on if they recommend passage of the contract, and to lay out the member ratification process. Members will have time to read and review the full agreement, engage in meaningful discussion, and ask questions and get answers to details of the agreement.

We know the toll that uncertainty is having on educators and families as we wait for the PPS board to do the right thing and approve the deal we made at the table. While we navigate this unprecedented situation, we ask for your patience, trust, and understanding.

We need to continue the pressure on the school board to do the right thing and give us the chance to ratify the contract. Emotions and frustrations are high, but we want to reiterate, while PAT members and allies are engaging in peaceful protest, we strongly condemn vandalism.

Tomorrow, we ask that you join us for a collective action at City Hall. Please check in with your Picket Captains for more details. Tomorrow's action is voluntary AND paid.

Message of Support:

Here’s support from Portland Thorns own player Kelly Hubbli!

PERSONAL LOAN INTEREST REIMBURSEMENT

In addition to strike benefits and grant funds, The OEA will guarantee payment of the interest on a loan secured by a member during the course of a strike, under the following conditions:

1) Prior to seeking a loan from the bank or credit union, the loan request must be approved by the Local Financial Assistance Committee. Please email Peter Brogan ([email protected]), with the subject line, “$500 PAT Loan”

2) In your application state the amount of the loan and what bank or credit union you are applying to. 3) The maximum loan for which payment of interest will be guaranteed by OEA is $500. If there are two PAT members in one household they can apply for up to $1,000;

3) All strike-related loans must be repaid within one year following termination of the strike.

Bargaining Brief 11/20

Nov 20, 2023

Hello Educators,

After days of nonstop bargaining sessions, PAT and PPS negotiators reached a deal that makes real investments in our students and schools. A deal is a deal.

We know this contract is transformative, and will change the trajectory of Portland Public Schools. It’s now the responsibility of the PPS Board to do their jobs and pass the agreement their bargaining team recommended to them so we can get our students and educators back into classrooms.”

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President

Learn About the Final Agreement

Some Updates and Reminders on Financial Information:

2 PAT Strike Checks have been mailed out.

If you are missing a day, check in with your picket captain & they will send it via a google form.
You need to fill out the W-9 emailed to you by Adobe Acrobat on behalf of Suzie Lyda before your 2^nd check can be sent.

OEA Strike Emergency Grants ($300)

Learn more about the OEA strike emergency funds, and apply here.

The first batch of OEA Strike Emergency Grants have been processed
PMAE Retired will continue to review applications on a rolling basis

Strike Solidarity Fund

What It’s For

Rally supplies & equipment
Food to keep the machine running
Reimbursement for site CAT leads and others who are purchasing picket supplies

What It’s Not For

Direct fiscal assistance to members struggling from loss of pay

Fill out the form if you need to be reimbursed for picket expenses.

Bargaining Brief 11.20

Nov 20, 2023

Hello Educators,

After nearly 24 hours of continuous bargaining, the PPS and PAT bargaining teams reached what both sides believed to be a tentative agreement that would make transformational change for Portland students and get them back to the classroom.

This morning, the PPS Board of Education unanimously rejected the recommended settlement sent to them from their own bargaining team.

This crisis of their own making unnecessarily prolongs the strike, and demonstrates the inability of district leadership to govern Oregon’s largest school district.

Educators will remain on strike until the Board accepts the deal that the PPS and PAT bargaining teams agreed upon.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President

Public Bargaining Proposals

Nov 19, 2023

We want to be open and transparent with our community as we fight for the schools our students and teachers deserve. Please click below to explore our bargaining proposals and other negotiation content.

Full Public Bargaining Proposal Folder ➤

Recent Updates ➤

Bargaining Brief 11.18

Nov 19, 2023

Your PAT bargaining team is happy to share that today was positive and productive. We made significant progress towards bringing educators and students back to our schools with improved teaching and learning conditions for all Portland Public Schools.

The positive movement today is a direct result of the overwhelming support the district has seen from our members and our community for our proposals - now is not the time to slow down, it is the time to relentlessly persist in our efforts.

It’s 11:30 pm, so we are headed home. We will be back at the table tomorrow morning.

Thank you for your continued dedication to your students, community and to each other.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President

Bargaining Brief 11.17

Nov 17, 2023

Although your PAT bargaining team continues to work on movement towards agreement on all open articles, the bulk of today was again spent on Article 8 (workload) - attempting to find agreement on how to provide support to educators whose teaching loads are unbearably high. Both teams met for six sidebars throughout the day, with the final meeting concluding after 11:00pm, solely around Article 8.

We spent the entire day working on the language that would ensure there is a process to involve educator voices and families in finding ways to support our under-resourced educators. We are frankly stunned that we can’t get our employer to agree to put in writing that they will commit themselves to a good faith effort to work with us towards solving the problem of over-worked educators and under-served students in schools across the city; They still refuse to consider class size caps. We say again: our employers won’t commit themselves to making a good faith effort in vital portions of our contract. Why not? What prevents PPS management from committing to supporting teachers and students going forward? How can such an employer be trusted to keep their word?

Our 12th day away from our students ended with progress, but not at a rate that shows a real sense of urgency. Why is this? One possibility might be that the PPS caucus room now appears to be occupied by an ever growing number of attorneys and senior level employees which seems to be slowing down the process. At present it is impossible for us to identify any real decision makers. Who in PPS leadership is really in charge? Who is empowered to make decisions? We need decision makers to come ready to bargain IN GOOD FAITH, not perseverate over every word of a proposal!

We continue to seek someone from PPS to take the lead in negotiations and demonstrate through their actions at the table that they are genuinely interested in committing to providing educators what we need to serve our students. Surely this isn’t too much to ask.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President

Bargaining Brief 11.16

Nov 16, 2023

Hello educators,

Your bargaining team spent much of the day revising our Article 8 language related to class size. We continue to fight for true workload relief. We carefully crafted a method to ensure that your classes aren’t overloaded in the same way they are now and includes the families in problem solving.

We presented our updated class size language to the district this afternoon. We appreciated the questions district management asked and are hopeful that we’re making real movement toward agreement on this critical issue.

Click here to read our latest Article 8 language.

In other good news from today, we signed tentative agreements on four articles: Articles 10 (Academic Freedom & Instruction), 15 (Retirement), 16 (Extended Responsibility) and 20 (Reduction in Staff/Layoff). We have responses ready for a package of other articles that we are ready to present to district management once we reach a common understanding with them around class size language.

A reminder as the media frenzy continues: If it didn’t come from PAT, don’t believe that!

This afternoon we learned along with the rest of you and PPS families that it will not be an option for students to attend school next week regardless of the status of our contract settlement. However, it is certainly possible for educators to return to work next week should an agreement be reached.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President

Bargaining Brief 11.15

Nov 15, 2023

Your bargaining team spent a large portion of the day reviewing the financials shared by the district bargaining team yesterday, while we waited for what we hoped would be a comprehensive settlement proposal. We received a package from district management at about 6:30 this evening. There were some small improvements from the last proposal we received, and a few articles are close to agreement. However, it is clear that at this moment, management is unwilling to put forward a comprehensive response that addresses all of our priorities. We remain far apart, particularly in the areas of COLA, class limits, and mental health support.

In regards to member concerns around the Middle School schedules: PAT has made no proposals to change the middle school schedules. Scheduling is a management right and responsibility. PAT’s proposals have simply asserted that our planning time demand can be achieved under any schedule the district currently operates. The district has continued to insist that the self-imposed requirement of weekly administrator-directed PLC meeting time is what prevents guaranteeing the weekly planning time in our proposal.

It is notable that management is, for the first time, responding to our proposal in regard to class size limits—an issue that district leadership seems to be philosophically opposed to. We will fully analyze the proposals we received this evening and be prepared to provide management with a comprehensive settlement package by no later than early afternoon tomorrow.

We want to thank all of YOU for the many messages of support we have received. We keenly feel the trust you have placed in us and we will hold the line at the table just as you are holding the line at your schools. We know we have justice on our side and we know our community supports us. One day longer, one day stronger!

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Ryan Olds, OEA Staff
Angela Bonilla, President