Happy Teacher Appreciation Week

Read on to see some of the offers available to educators this week

PAT is seeking members to serve on the 2023-2024 Advocacy Cadre. To apply, fill out this application form by June 27th. Advocacy Cadre is how I started getting involved in PAT outside of my building. The experience was awesome; I met passionate members from other schools, helped members across our district, and became well versed in the contract. I encourage everyone to apply! Scroll down to read more about the PAT Advocacy Cadre.

In Solidarity,
Angela Bonilla
President
Portland Association of Teachers
http://www.pdxteachers.org/

What is The PAT Advocacy Cadre? 

This small group of members will work closely with UniServ to become experts on our contract, and will provide member to member support.

The Advocacy Cadre will run a Zoom Advocacy Hotline, where Reps and other members can get immediate answers to questions about the contract and support to resolve problems in their buildings. 

In addition, the Advocacy Cadre will provide support with Rep Training, answer member emails to [email protected], and create materials to help members better understand contract issues.

You can read about the 2021-2022 Advocacy Cadre here: www.pdxteachers.org/pat_advocacy_cadre

Cadre Members Commit to:

• 2 days Advocacy Training on August 14th and 15th. (This will be held either live, or remotely)
• 1 Zoom Hotline shift a week, during the school year, Mondays, 4:30pm-6:30pm at PAT (Cadre members stay until 7pm). 
• Additional 3.5 hours/half day up to twice a month to follow up on unresolved member needs from the Hotline shift (release time can be provided).
• In addition to answering the hotline, this time will include ongoing training and other advocacy work with Uniserv Reps. Additional dates may be added depending on need.
• This is a minimum 1-year opportunity and commitment, paid at the OEA cadre-rate ($33/hour). 

Responsibilities

• Assist Building Representatives and members who come to Zoom Advocacy Hotline;
• Respond to emails from members;
• Be a knowledgeable resource about the PAT contract and PAT systems for supporting members in different situations;
• Follow procedure to inform UniServ reps of issues, determining next steps;
• Potential additional release time/ pay for ongoing training or representation work;
• Potential to shadow UniServ Reps on assignment.

Qualifications

• Active PAT membership;
• Experience as a PAT building rep or other similar union experience preferred but not mandatory;
• Interest in continued union advocacy work;
• Special consideration given to applicants with an interest in pursuing work as a UniServ Consultant or Organizer; 
• Special consideration given to applicants with characteristics that help create a group that represents the racial diversity of our membership, and of the job-types that our members hold.

Goals for PAT:

• Build capacity among members to enforce our contract, support member rights, and organize and problem solve in buildings;
• Develop leadership within PAT that represents the diversity of our membership demographics and workforce positions;
• Create a pathway toward UniServ work for interested members.

To apply: Fill out the application form by June 27th. Interviews to be scheduled in mid July.

The PAT Instructional Practices and Professional Development (IPD) committee is inviting educators at all grade levels to a listening session about concerns with the new ELA adoptions. The listening session will be on Monday, May 15th at the PAT office from 4:30-6:30PM. Attendees are encouraged to bring books, artifacts, and specific examples from their curriculum. If you cannot attend, you can still leave comments regarding the adoptions in the RSVP form.

Please RSVP by May 12th so we can order enough food for everybody.

PAT has a process for contract exceptions to allow professional educators at a worksite to apply for an exception to the terms and conditions of the Agreement (Article 1.9).  

Contract exceptions are due Friday, May 12th, 2023 and must be approved by the PAT Advocacy Committee and the District, prior to implementation. 

A contract exception is valid only for the school year for which it was approved. 

The Contract Exception Form and FAQ’s can be found at pdxteachers.org "Know Your Contract" page.

The Advocacy Committee will host a virtual meet to offer support with the process in April, date TBA.

PAT/PPS contract states, “Student loads will be calculated on the third Monday in October and the third Monday in February.” (Article 8.3.2.1)

This year, the third Monday in February was Monday, 2/20. Since that was a non-school day, overages were calculated on Tuesday, 2/21.

PPS will make overage payments in the March check.

If any professional educator does not receive payment for an overage on their March paycheck, claims should be submitted to PPS in April. State your case in detail and include evidence on the form from PPS. Make statements, rather than asking for overage pay. 

Keep using the PPS form until you get an answer. Contact your Building Rep for help.

Don’t forget to wear blue on Tuesdays! It doesn’t have to be a PAT blue shirt: You can rock a blue scarf, a blue pin, a blue sticker, a blue sweater or anything else you can imagine. But why, maestra? What’s the point? Well, the Tuesday Blue-sday tradition helps us show each other our union solidarity and reminds PPS leaders that our power is in our numbers and unity. Remember, campaigns are not built on one action but many escalating actions. This is just the beginning!

Substitute PAT members have the opportunity to shape our union and participate with other substitute and full time educators to organize inside our union and in our communities for quality public schools for all.

Not a member of PAT? Click HERE to Join PAT now!

Take a look at the Contract to become familiar with your rights. 

Announcements:

• Next Substitute Committee Meeting: Monday, 10/17 from 4:30-6:30 PM at the PAT Headquarters (345 NE 8th Ave). Come eat, drink, and chat with substitutes and get involved in making our union strong! Here’s the agenda for the next meeting.
• The district will be offering another paid professional training day on "Building Your Guest Teacher Toolkit" on Friday 10/14 for substitute educators. If you didn’t attend the last one, you can register through Pepper here.
• Earn an additional $50 per day/ $35 half-day incentive pay if you work at one of the following schools:
• SE: Grout, Harrison Park, Kelly, Kellogg, Lane, Lent, Sellwood
• NE: Beaumont, Faubion, Rigler, Roseway Heights, Sabin, Scott, Vernon
• N: Beach, Cesar Chavez, Chief Joseph, George, Harriet Tubman, James John, Jefferson, Ockley Green, Rosa Parks, Roosevelt, Sitton, 
• If you are applying to renew a teaching license from  01/01/2022 through 12/31/2023, educators are not required to report Professional Development Units (PDUs) to TSPC to renew or reinstate a license. For more information on this waiver, click here.
• Did you know you get a sick day as a substitute for every 17.7 days you work? If you need to take a sick day, whether or not you had to cancel a job on Absence Management, fill out this form.

Do you have unused sick leave hours? Please consider donating them to help support PAT members  facing serious health issues.

Members may donate up to 40 hours of sick leave annually. Employees who have already submitted their notice of resignation are exempted from this maximum limit, and may contribute as many hours as they would like. 

The PAT Sick Leave Bank (see PAT/PPS contract Article 17.2.1.2) provides aid for colleagues who have exhausted their accumulated leave balances and are unable to work due to extended or recurring personal illness. With the help of the Sick Leave Bank, they are able to avoid the additional hardships of lost salary and lost insurance coverage during their illness. 

You can donate hours using this online form, or go to our website for additional information.