Hello Educators,

RESPECT. SAFETY. SUSTAINABILITY.

You can’t put students first if you put teachers last.

Today was our first full-day work session between our PAT Bargaining Team and PPS Management.  After 4 sessions, PPS finally came with discussion questions around Article 5 (Grievance Procedure), Article 18 (Transfers), a counter proposal for Article 7 (Workday), and a proposal for Article 8 (Workload). 

Both district proposals were as egregious and outrageous as expected from a District desperate to solve their financial mismanagement on the backs of students.  

Caution - continuing to read this Bargaining Brief (trigger warning when you get to Article 8) may cause side effects such as feeling: 
Mad - Disrespected - Unsurprised - Peeved - Bullshit - Undermined - Sad - Frustrated 

ARTICLE 5: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE (LINK TO UNION PROPOSAL)

• Proposes shorter timelines, automatically moving to the next grievance level if there is no response from management, and clarification of the levels and steps in the grievance process

PPS Management had additional questions in regard to the Grievance Procedure, and did not provide a counter proposal.

ARTICLE 18: TRANSFERS (LINK TO UNION PROPOSAL) 

• Streamline transfer process

PPS Management expressed their interest in working together to find the most transparent and expedient way to communicate which jobs are available for PAT members who have been unassigned, and how best to manage the application and transfer processes for this current school year. Future meetings have been scheduled between PAT and PPS to create a plan for this year - and then we can negotiate how best to move forward with proposals to Article 18.

ARTICLE 7: WORKDAY (LINK TO UNION PROPOSAL)

• Adds school counselors to the article
• Proposes 450 minutes of planning time for Elementary and Middle School
• Reduces number of staff meetings for high schools to be commensurate to ES/MS: from 30/year to 10/year
• Provides common planning time for co-teachers

ARTICLE 7: WORKDAY (LINK TO DISTRICT COUNTER PROPOSAL)

• Deny PAT-proposed increases in individual-directed current planning time levels
• Agree to ten (10) High School Staff Meetings per year
• Add 30 minutes per day of Admin-Directed time to High Schools from 7:45-8:15 Monday-Thursday; ended work day earlier at 3:45 not 4:00
• Deny PAT-proposed changes to common planning time for co-teachers

ARTICLE 8: WORKLOAD (LINK TO DISTRICT PROPOSAL, HS CHART)

• Increase Middle School Educator threshold to 180 students
• Increase High School Educator threshold to 190 students
• Separate High School Performing Arts Educators to target size of 150 and a threshold of 260 students
• Separate High School Physical Education/Health Professionals Educators to target size of 150 and a threshold of 260 students
• Increase SLP threshold to 65 students
• Increase High School Librarians threshold to 1650 students
• Increase HS, MS, or departmentalized 6-8 classroom teacher unique preps to qualify for overage from 3 to 4
• Increase class size threshold for Elementary Specialists to over 35

As you might expect, our Bargaining Team had many feelings and many questions, including the most important point as voiced by Bargaining Team Member Rion Roberts (Lincoln HS): How does this proposal improve the teaching conditions and the learning experiences of our students? In addition, we asked PPS Management to provide specific data regarding how many PAT members currently receive class size or unique prep overage, and reiterated that the purpose of overages is to dis-incentivize building Administrators from overloading PAT members.

Lead negotiator Sharon Toncray focused on financials, talked at length about pieces of pie and Rubik’s Cubes (metaphors). Not once did she address the reality of the impacts of increased overages on the classroom and learning experiences of the students. 

One piece of “good” news is that PPS has budgeted a 2% COLA for PAT members each year for the next three years. 

If reading this Bargaining Brief caused side effects such as feeling: 
Mad - Disrespected - Unsurprised - Peeved - Bullshit - Undermined - Sad - Frustrated

…Take those feelings and show up at the next Bargaining Session on Thursday, April 9!

Click here and bookmark this page to stay informed about Bargaining Updates.

What’s Next

• Next Bargaining Sessions: Join us! RSVP Here: bit.ly/patbargainwatch
  Bargaining Session #6 - Thursday, April 9 from 4pm-8pm at District Office/Mazama Room
  (topics may include compensation and insurance benefits)
• Bargaining Session #7 - Thursday, April 30 from 12pm-8pm at PAT Office

Next Bargaining Committee Session: Get Involved!
Bargaining Committee Meeting - Wednesday, April 15 from 5:00-7:00pm
Got something to say? Show up and be part of the committee! RSVP link in The Advocate closer to the date.

In Solidarity,
Your PAT Bargaining Team:

Alex Prahl, Cesar Chavez K-8
Alexis Quiñonez, Rigler ES
Andrew Butterfield, Ida B. Wells HS
Angela Bonilla, PAT President
Beyoung Yu, Atkinson ES
Bryan Dykman, Franklin HS
Calley Ekberg, School Psychologist
Caroline Coholan, Llewellyn ES
Carolyn "CT" Earnest, McDaniel HS
Catherine Tucker, Marysville ES
Chrysann Lowe, Beverly Cleary K-8
Francisca Alvarez, Scott K-5 and Bargaining Co-Chair
Georgie Steeves, Harrison Park MS
Josuee Hernandez, Faubion PK-8
Kelly Schlottman, Lent ES
Ky Hansen, CRIS
Luke Hotchkiss, Benson HS
Mike Carlip, Rapid Response Team and Bargaining Co-Chair
Moira Finnegan, Franklin HS
Revi Shohet, Bridger-CS K-8
Rhonda Holmes, Roosevelt HS
Rion Roberts, Lincoln HS
Samara Bockelman, Beaumont MS and Roseway Heights MS
Sarabeth "SB" Leitch, McDaniel HS
Sarah Conley, Sunnyside K-8
Sunshine McFaul, Grant HS
Valerie Turner, Mt. Tabor MS
Walker, Roosevelt HS
Yaneira Romero, James John ES
Click here and bookmark this page to stay informed about Bargaining Updates