OEA is holding two webinars this month to share information about the new reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. If you have been told you weren’t eligible for loan forgiveness in the past, it’s possible that your eligibility has changed under these reforms. Some topics to be covered are:

• What changes to the PSLF Program mean to you
• How to access the Student Debt Navigator tool to automatically connect all your loans to the repayment program in one place. This tool is FREE to members. Through the tool you can: 
  • Check your eligibility for PSLF
  • Get personalized repayment and forgiveness options
  • Sign and submit paperwork for loan forgiveness
  • Get one-on-one support from student loan experts

Tuesday, February 22nd at 4:30 PM OR Wednesday, February 23rd at 4:30 PM Register today!

Our Union siblings, the Portland city trade workers represented by DCTU, have voted to authorize their Bargaining Team to call a strike. They are asking for our support as fellow union members. Please come in your PAT Blue to show your support!

• DCTU Rally
• 5pm, Thursday, January 27th at Portland City Hall 
• Come with your signs and wearing your PAT Union attire
• RSVP and Share here

Let City Management & Council hear your voice for a fair contract now! And please consider giving even a small amount to their Go Fund Me account to show the city council that the city workers are supported by our community.

From the DCTU on what they are fighting for: 

The District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) is a coalition of workers that bargains a contract together at the City of Portland, Oregon.

We are your families, neighbors, friends, and fellow community members. We work hard for Portland, ensuring that you have clean drinking water, habitable buildings, safe bridges and streets and many other essential services.

• Our needs are simple: a living wage, and the ability to live in the city that we serve. 
• Negotiations with City Management for our current contract have stalled. The process, which should have taken half a year, has been going on since 2020. It is now 2022. 
• The City has denied our repeated requests for wages that keep pace with inflation. 

Since negotiations have reached impasse, we have two choices as workers:

Either accept the City’s final offer of wages that pay for less this year than they did last year, or go on strike.

Thank you for your amazing Solidarity and Support, and keep spreading the word!

Portland Association of Teachers
http://www.pdxteachers.org/

Your union is working on several fronts to help with the student loan debt crisis in this country. On an individual level, we want to help you better understand the Federal Loan Forgiveness programs including the newly announced PSLF Waiver and to move you toward loan forgiveness. 

Please join us to learn the facts about the current federal loan forgiveness programs and to gain access to the NEA Member Benefits Loan Forgiveness Navigation tool available at www.neamb.com/start.

• December 6th, 4:30-6:30 PM on Zoom
• January 13th 4:30-6:30 PM on Zoom

RSVP here. Please remember that you need to be a PAT member to attend, so if you are not already a member, sign up here today.

Dear Educator,

Last night at the PPS School Board Meeting, I shared with the board our recent survey data, illustrating how overwhelmed and strained educators are feeling this year. You can watch the presentation here beginning at about minute 50:00.

The survey results are alarming, and demonstrate that educators are experiencing extraordinary stress and overwork, and many educators are considering options to leave the profession they love.  

In order for our school system to continue serving our students this year, we need to retain the educators we have. We are advocating for meaningful workload relief to be implemented immediately. 

PAT is organizing listening sessions with our PPS School Board members, so they can hear directly from you.  We are planning to hold 3 listening sessions, and invite all PAT members to sign up to speak or to attend to listen: 

• Monday, November 1, 5-6 pm
• Thursday, November 4, 5-6 pm
• Monday, November 8, 5-6 pm

Please come share your thoughts on the following questions:

• What examples from your personal experiences best illustrate the demands on educators this school year? 
• What immediate solutions could we implement to make this year manageable?
• What long-term solutions can we work toward together to make sure a career as an educator can be fulfilling and sustainable?

Comments will be limited to 3 minutes or less, to allow many voices to be heard.  

Please use this form to sign up to speak or listen at any of the sessions. After you sign up, we will send you a Zoom link. If you are not able to attend, you can use the same form to submit a written comment. 

Speakers will be limited based on time, and chosen on a first come, first served basis, while also ensuring that educators from many different grade levels and roles have an opportunity to be heard.

This is NOT an official PPS School Board meeting. We are inviting all board members to attend, and expect between 1 and 3 board members to be at each session.

Thank you for sharing your concerns, ideas, and vision for how to make our school system sustaining for students and staff. 

In Solidarity,

Elizabeth Thiel

President, Portland Association of Teachers

http://www.pdxteachers.org/

You are invited to join colleagues from around the state at the OEA Fall Conference. The conference, happening over October 16th, 19th, and 21st will offer online courses to build strategy around bargaining, organizing, and advocating. All sessions will be held virtually.

Register today

Read more below about the session you can sign up for.

Saturday, October 16 - 9:00-10:30AM

Bridging the Political Divide: Recruiting and Retaining Members Across the Political Spectrum 
with Rylee Ahnen, OEA Communications

Responding to Hate and Bias at School: Extended Session
with OEA member and social studies teacher Patrick Griffin, student Jessica Acee, and Rose I. Wilde of Lane ESD and "Showing Up for Racial Justice" Springfield-Eugene Leadership Team

Saturday, October 16 - 11:30AM-1:00PM

Bargaining for Equity 
with PAT President Elizabeth Thiel & OEA Consultant Lesly Munoz

Responding to Hate and Bias at School: Extended Session
with OEA member and social studies teacher Patrick Griffin, student Jessica Acee, and Rose I. Wilde of Lane ESD and "Showing Up for Racial Justice" Springfield-Eugene Leadership Team

Tuesday, October 19 - 5:00-6:00PM

Preparing Now for Spring Bargaining 
with Robert Young, OEA Bargaining Coordinator

Collaborative Problem Solving: Getting to Yes! 
with Klamath City EA President Maureen Lundy & OEA Consultant Bob Gray

Responding to Public Attacks on OEA Members Implementing Social Justice Standards 
with Teresa Ferrer, OEA Equity Coordinator

Understanding Implicit Bias 
with Lindsay Ray, Beaverton EA Vice President

Gender Savvy: Creating an Inclusive School Climate
with Basic Rights Oregon

Thursday, October 21 - 5:00-6:00PM

Bargaining Strategies for Disrupted Learning
with Robert Young, OEA Bargaining Coordinator

Advocating for Licensed Members with Performance Issues
with OEA Consultants Allison Orton and Bob Gray

Responding to Hate and Bias at School 
with OEA member and social studies teacher Patrick Griffin, student Jessica Acee, and Rose I. Wilde of Lane ES

Register today. Download the event flier for more details on all the courses offered over these three days.

The Racial Equity Committee Co-Chairs, Lindell Stone and Darshanpreet Gill, will be hosting a social for Educators of Color (EoC) in PPS and you're invited! 

When: This Thursday (10/07) from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Where: Catalina's (517 NE Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97211)

What: Come hang out with other EoC from around the district while enjoying some food and drinks provided by the union! 

Who: PAT Members who identify as a person of color

PLEASE RSVP HERE

COVID-19 Safety: Please wear a mask and maintain distance. There will be outside seating available. To keep the group-size smaller, please just bring yourself, and your colleagues who are also PAT members of color (not other friends and family at this time). 

Hope to see you there!

Portland Association of Teachers · 345 NE 8th, Portland Association of Teachers, Portland, OR 97232, United States
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October 21, 2021 · 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

OEA's Building the New Educator Toolbelt Series will provide an opportunity for early career Oregon educators to join in lively collaboration each month to explore the most timely and important issues facing you and our students.

In this session, learn your options as an educator for student loan forgiveness and explore NEA resources to help you navigate the application process.

Register Today

Please come out on Tuesday to support Kaiser Permanente Healthcare workers fighting for safe staffing levels and fair wages. Wear you PAT BLUE to show our union support.

Rally to Support OFNHP Kaiser Permanente Workers

September 28th, 6 – 7:30 pm

Kaiser Permanente Building (500 NE Multnomah St, Portland)

Facebook event: Click here

More about the struggle:

Like educators who advocate for students, healthcare workers are patient defenders. Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professional members are the frontline to ensure our community gets the healthcare it needs to stay healthy. The frontline healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are fighting for safe staffing levels and wages to attract and retain workers.

When our community wins great staffing and conditions that retain experienced staff, we save lives. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need this more than ever, and we also need the voices of both patients, union members, and care providers.

Join the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals at 6:00 pm on September 28^th at the Kaiser Permanente Building (500 NE Multnomah St, Portland) to raise the voices of both frontline healthcare workers and community members who are fighting for healthcare justice. We will be showing our support for safe staffing, a fair union contract, and a voice for both patients and care workers. Union nurses and health professionals will speak out as well as labor leaders, community organizations, clergy, and patients.

Here are a few links with some additional information:

• Our Rally Information for September 28^th
• Latest Alliance Bargaining Update
• Our FAQ About a Kaiser Strike

PAT is once again excited to sponsor the Northwest Teaching For Social Justice Conference! The annual gathering of conversation, idea-sharing, and inspiration is just a few weeks away.

Join us ONLINE on Saturday, October 23, 2021.  The cost is just $10 — $5 for students.

Register Now

The keynote talk this year is Dr. Bettina Love,  an award-winning author, co-founder of the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN), and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. Her books include We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and The Pursuit of Educational Freedom and Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South.

In addition, there are dozens of educator-led workshops lined up in 2 sessions. See the full program at www.nwtsj.org.

We hope you can make it!

OEA is taking applications for a *new* grant opportunity. Education Empowerment grants are awarded to help local associations engage members around important issues that impact teaching and learning. The grant may be used to support professional learning and/or to enhance and improve professional practice in a specific area. This grant should focus on solving an issue that will create a lasting impact on professional practice in a local. It is not meant to be used to purchase consumable materials and/or classroom supplies.

CRITERIA:

• Any local Oregon Education Association member is eligible to apply for a grant during the grant cycle to be used to support professional practice.
• Grant applicants must have communicated their intent to apply to their local association President.
• Grants must relate to engaging members on professional practice issues and should not be used for consumable materials and/or classroom supplies.

• Grant applications must be received by October 15, 2021 for review and consideration.
• Grant requests should correspond with the local association and/or school district’s mission/vision/goals.
• Grant awards from $1000 - $5000

DEADLINES:

• All applications are due October 15, 2021.
• All projects must be completed by June 15, 2022.
• All grant final reports are due by June 30, 2022.

Please review the application here to see specific questions and information requested. If you would like to apply, please contact PAT President Elizabeth Thiel ([email protected]) to set up a time to discuss your proposed application.