The Advocate - January 10, 2018

• President's Message: What Do We Stand For?
• Bargaining at a Crossroads
• Vote Yes on Measure 101
• Performance Evaluations for Probationary Teachers - Heads Up!
• Substitutes Win Again
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration – Monday January 15th
• Oregon Teacher of the Year Nominations
• Reminder:  Cast your vote in the PAT Election
• PAT PAC Endorsement Process
• Take the TELL Survey
• Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools, February 5-9, 2018
• Let's Engage!
• Member-to-Member Specials
• OEA Conflict Resolution Workshop
• Athletics Grants from OEA and California Casualty

Welcome Back and Happy New Year!

As our bargaining team prepares to work all day Thursday and Friday—and straight through the three-day weekend in the hopes of securing a fair settlement—I find myself reflecting on parallels between unionism and civil rights.

I hope you had a chance to read yesterday's message from PAT Bargaining Team Chair Steve Lancaster. As Steve discussed, your PAT Bargaining team has blocked off five days over the next week in the hopes of reaching a settlement with the District. In addition to meeting all day Thursday and Friday, we’re prepared to meet every day over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

One thing you can do to help is change your personal social media profile to the graphic including this message “Support Portland Teachers, Settle Now!” We’re hoping educators across the District will change their profile picture for the full five days we’re slated to bargain with the District, January 11th-15th.

While we hope for the best in next week’s mediation, we’re preparing for the worst, including escalating towards a job action.

Have you received your ballot yet? Educators around the state are voting YES for Measure 101 because we see the impact of access to healthcare in our classrooms every day. Students who are sick are unable to focus and learn.

Probationary educators must be evaluated each year during their 3-year probationary period. The process is described in the contract and the Educator Handbook for Professional Growth and Evaluation.  Performance ratings must align with the PPS Performance Evaluation Rubric and ratings must be based on direct evidence included in the written evaluation. 

It felt like déjà vu, but PAT Substitutes once again prevailed in an Unfair Labor Practice case at the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB).  Portland Public Schools was found guilty of “pursuing an unlawful subject of bargaining during its negotiations with Portland Association of Teachers” when it made bargaining proposals that that conflicted with Oregon state law. For months PPS has refused to recognize that the state’s new sick leave law applies to Substitute teachers.

Please join us for a public celebration of the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Keep Alive the Dream.

For 33 years the World Arts Foundation has hosted this tribute Dr. King, and this year’s event will include speakers, arts and musical tributes to local artists whose contributions have put Portland on the map and will last a lifetime.

When: Monday, January 15, 2018 - 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Where: Highland Center, 7600 NE Glisan St., Portland, Oregon 97213

A $5.00 donation or five units of non-perishable foods will be collected at the door and given to local food banks.

Every day, educators across the city do amazing work despite the many challenges and obstacles we face, from old buildings with failing heat and no drinkable water to inadequate supplies or non-existent curricula. At PAT we see what you accomplish every day, which is why working with all of you is such an honor. 

Vote for PAT Officers, Executive Board Members, and PAT delegates to the OEA and NEA Representative Assemblies using our electronic voting process.  On January 24, a link will be sent to your PPS email address directing you to the Voters’ Pamphlet (which includes the Candidates’ Statements) and Ballots.  The link will also include videos of the speeches made by PAT Officer and Executive Board candidates at the January Representative Assembly.

Please remember not to vote during work time.  BALLOTS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 5:00 p.m. on February 9, 2018, to be counted.  

Our elected leaders have a huge influence on our school system—they determine our funding, the school rating system, housing and healthcare policies that impact our students’ lives, and much more. Teachers’ voices need to be elevated in politics, to ensure that we elect leaders who value public education, workers’ rights, and a more just society.