PAT Bargaining — In the News
We must speak louder than ever for Portland students, schools, and educators. Below we have gathered the latest news coverage of our strike, our members, and our fight for the contract we all deserve.
Want to hear straight from the Portland Association of Teachers? Click the button to read our bargaining briefs, press releases, and other statements.
For media:
Contact: Samantha Winslow
Phone: (971) 373-7584
Email: [email protected]
Amid Teachers' Strike, Other Portland Public Schools Staff File Grievance With District
Taylor Griggs, Portland Mercury | November 2, 2023
As members of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) union continue their historic strike, another Portland Public Schools (PPS) union claims the district is asking its members to cross the picket line and perform work they're unqualified to do.
Good Morning America | November 2, 2023
Nearly 4,000 teachers walked off the job as the Portland Association of Teachers demand better pay and smaller class sizes.
Portland teachers are on strike, with schools closed. Here’s what to know.
Ben Brasch, Washington Post | November 2, 2023
The Portland Association of Teachers began its strike Wednesday, closing all 81 of the city’s public schools.
The union is striking because the 49,000-student school district and the union are about $200 million apart in negotiations over its three-year contract. The National Education Association supports the strike, writing: “Too many of their classes are so large they run out of desks. Too many students are asked to learn in sweltering temperatures.”
Portland Teachers Are on Strike, Closing Schools in Oregon’s Largest District
Sarah Mervosh and Mike Baker, The New York Times | November 1, 2023
Teachers and other school employees in Portland, Ore., are on strike Wednesday, canceling school for tens of thousands of children in Oregon’s largest school district.
The strike in Portland follows similar walk-offs by teachers in Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., this year, and comes as high-profile strikes roil other industries, including Hollywood and Detroit automakers.
First-Ever Strike for Portland Teachers Tackles Student Needs
Barbara Madeloni, Labor Notes | November 1, 2023
The Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) walked out on strike today, closing 81 schools. The 4,500-member union is demanding more counselors, more planning time for teachers, more support for special education students, smaller class sizes, and increased salaries and cost-of-living adjustments.
50 Reasons Why Portland Teachers Are Striking
Mary Ellen Flannery, NEA Today | October 31, 2023
There are more than 4,500 educators and 45,000 students in Portland Public Schools (PPS) in Oregon —and that adds up to about 50,000 reasons why Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) members are going on strike tomorrow. These dedicated educators and students don’t have what they need—and deserve—to be successful.
Portland teachers, families march over Burnside Bridge ahead of looming strike
Drew Marine, KPTV | October 29, 2023
Portland Public Schools District teachers and families rallied at the Portland Association of Teachers office on Saturday morning to pressure the district to meet their demands before Nov 1.
“We’re going to keep fighting and it’s their choice to do what’s right,” said PAT president Angela Bonilla. “They can do what’s right, they can do what’s easy. What’s easy is continuing the status quo what’s right is disrupting the systems we currently have that haven’t been serving all of us.”
New polling data commissioned by Oregon teachers shows public support behind strikes
Natalie Pate, OPB | October 28, 2023
As Portland teachers prepare to strike on Nov. 1, tensions are rising in other districts across the state. As tensions intensify in school districts across the state, teachers unions may feel emboldened by a sense of public support for strikes, based on recent polling they commissioned.
The umbrella organization for PAT and other teachers unions in the state, the Oregon Education Association, released polling results to OPB this week that looked at what major issues residents are concerned about in local schools, whether they feel the issues are worthy topics for a strike, and how people feel about strikes in different parts of the state.
Portland Public Schools teachers march for new contract
kgw.com | October 28, 2023
A potential teacher strike in Oregon's largest school district is now just four days away. On Saturday morning, PPS teachers marched in hopes of reaching a new deal.
Portland teachers prepare picket signs for potential strike
Soyoung Kim, Fox 12 | October 27, 2023
With a potential strike planned to begin in less than a week, Portland teachers and their supporters spent hours making picket-signs on Thursday. Teachers and supporters gathered at the Portland Association of Teachers’ (PAT) office on Thursday and wrote messages on the signs that read “students are not sardines” and “on strike for our students.”
Portland Public School teachers union prepares for first strike in its history
Jami Seymore, KOIN | October 26, 2023
Portland is less than a week from a potential teachers strike in Oregon’s largest school district, impacting more than 45,000 students. Mediation talks are still in the works, but if that fails, this will be the first strike in PPS history and teachers say it couldn’t come sooner.
PDX Public School Teachers Ready To Strike, Condemn Parents To Their Children
Stephen Robinson, Wonkette | October 24, 2023
Portland, Oregon, teachers voted last week to go on strike, effective November 1, unless an agreement is reached with the school district. As a PDX parent, I can confirm this is absolutely awful news. It’s admittedly a bit of a vacation when you don’t have to get your kids ready for school in the morning, but then it’s suddenly 9 a.m. and they’re home all day. You’ve got to keep them constantly occupied like Sandra Bullock keeping her bus moving at the appropriate speed.
However, this potential disaster isn’t the teachers’ fault. It’s the school district’s, for not meeting their entirely reasonable demands, which include smaller class sizes, salaries that keep up with rising inflation, and more resources overall. The teachers’ contract expires in June, and the union has negotiated with the district in good faith for months now.
Portland teachers are preparing to strike. Is your company ready?
Suzanne Stevens, Portland Business Journal | October 24, 2023
If Portland Association of Teachers and PPS negotiators can't reach a contract deal, teachers are ready to strike. [Subscribers only]
What a teachers strike would mean for Portland Public Schools students
Emily Harris, Axios Portland | October 23, 2023
Thousands of teachers working in Portland Public Schools intend to go on strike beginning Nov. 1 if they can't reach an agreement with the district within the next week. Why it matters: It would be the first such strike in PPS history, disrupting learning for more than 49,000 students across 81 schools.
Portland Association of Teachers: Ready to strike for our schools and students
Angela Bonilla, The Oregonian | October 22, 2023
As the president of the Portland Association of Teachers, I’ve been flooded with educators’ concerns – issues like ballooning class sizes, extreme temperatures in buildings and mental health and special education staff stretched far too thin.
YVYV: Portland Public Schools facing possible strike, PAT and PPS weigh in
KATU Staff, KATU 2 ABC | October 22, 2023
It's been a big year for labor strikes in this country. Among them: Auto workers and healthcare workers walking the picket lines. This past week, we heard a lot of talk about the possibility of a teachers' strike in Portland Public Schools, Oregon's largest school district.
Portland teachers to strike starting Nov. 1
Natalie Pate, OPB | October 20, 2023
After months of bargaining, the Portland Association of Teachers has given official notice that it will go on strike beginning Wednesday, Nov. 1, in what would be the first-ever teachers strike in the district.
Teachers union in Portland, Oregon, votes to strike over class sizes, pay, lack of resources
Associated Press | October 20, 2023
Teachers in Portland, Oregon, have voted to go on strike, their union announced Friday, in another sign of a growing national organized labor movement that’s seen thousands of workers in various sectors walk off the job this year.
Portland Public Schools teachers union votes to authorize strike
Aimee Plante, KOIN | October 19, 2023
The Portland Association of Teachers notified PPS of their plan to strike starting Nov. 1 after a series of bargaining attempts spanning several months.
Portland Association of Teachers says strike could begin Nov. 1
Adrian Thomas, KPTV | October 18
Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools, could soon face a massive teacher strike after contract negations reached a stalemate Tuesday and the union voted to authorize a strike.
As PPS Teachers Inch Closer to a Strike, Staff Across the District Ask for Better Treatment
Taylor Griggs, Portland Mercury | October 12, 2023
Portland’s teachers union says educators are being priced out of the city, and class sizes are too big. Meanwhile, other public school employees are also struggling with their contract negotiations.
Union members rally as Portland Public Schools teachers nearing strike
Katherine Cook, KGW News | October 11, 2023
A large group of Portland Public Schools (PPS) employees held a rally outside the school district's headquarters on Tuesday. They marched as members of several unions with a common grievance. “We're all being disrespected and disregarded in our attempts to serve our students,” said Angela Bonilla, an elementary school teacher and the president of the Portland Association of Teachers.
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Teachers’ “Practice Picket” Floods North Portland Streets
Rachel Saslow, Willamette Week | October 10, 2023
Hundreds of teachers marched past the Portland Public Schools headquarters this evening in the Rose Quarter, shutting down westbound lanes of North Broadway during rush hour and setting the stage for an increasingly likely teacher strike later this month.
‘We all mean business’: Portland Public Schools employees threaten to strike
Elise Haas, KOIN | October 10, 2023
Negotiations are heating up between labor unions and Portland Public Schools as employees took to the streets and filled the board room, warning district officials that they’re ready and willing to strike. Several labor unions, including the Portland Association of Teachers, SEIU Local 503, and the Portland Federation of School Professionals, marched together Tuesday night, demanding a fair contract. Nutrition and custodial staff members say they’re pushing back against low wages.