Mark your calendars!
PAT Week of Action, April 24th-28th
Dear educator,
Our union has been in contract negotiations for safe, sustainable and equitable schools since January. Our union put together a bargaining platform, based on surveys from educators, that lays out a path ensuring high quality and strong public schools now and for years to come.
Despite our proposals and compelling testimony, PPS managers seem to believe that the status quo is working and should be maintained for years to come. It is time we take action to show PPS management that maintaining the status quo is not how we create great public schools.
How much longer are we willing to wait for safe, sustainable and equitable schools?
|
WHAT IS GOOD FOR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS |
Educators Proposal |
Management’s Proposal |
|
Class sizes & caseloads |
Hard caps and increases in planning and prep times |
status quo |
|
Competitive salaries & cost of living adjustments |
Keep up with inflation & offsetting PERS cuts |
2.5% per year |
|
Just cause: protection against unjust discipline or firing of educators |
Maintain our current protections |
Remove Just Cause protections to make discipline and firing less transparent |
|
Expanded mental health services |
School psychologists, qualified mental health providers, nurses and counselors for ALL schools |
No Response |
|
Additional Special Education services |
Smaller caseloads & more Tier 2 and 3 interventions |
No Response |
|
Safe and healthy schools |
Buildings must be between 60℉ and 90℉, schools free of mice and mold, de-escalation spaces for students in crisis |
No Response |
|
Racial equity and restorative justice |
Fully fund restorative justice programs, educator-led professional development, culturally relevant curricula, accurate collection of racial disparity data |
No Response |
|
Expanded early childhood learning & preschool |
Safe staffing ratios, greater professional development, play-based curriculum |
No Response |
|
More teaching, less testing |
No standardized tests before 3rd grade, no additional testing beyond state-mandated tests |
Struck most of our proposed language |
|
Housing assistance |
New emergency services for PPS families facing eviction and families with housing needs |
No Response |
|
Real community connections
|
Expand parent-teacher home visit program and greater transparency around school budgeting |
No Response |
What patterns do you notice? One clear pattern is that PPS believes the status quo is what best serves our students and schools. It is time we reject this argument. Why? This flies in the face of what we experience each and every day in our schools.
This is why we’re taking action during the week of April 24th-28th, to show PPS management that maintaining the status quo is not how we create great public schools. We do this by responding to the needs of our students and families and create the safe, sustainable and equitable schools our community deserves.
More details coming soon from your head building representative or internal organizer. Make sure someone from your worksite attends our Wednesday, April 19th Representative Assembly to learn more. If you have questions, please write to our Internal Organizing Leads Erika Schneider ([email protected]) or Matt Reed ([email protected]).
Take care and enjoy your weekend!
In Solidarity,
Portland Association of Teachers
http://www.pdxteachers.org/