Attention PAT Educators:

Great News!  The PAT Substitute Bargaining Team (Mark Oshin, Steven Alexander, and Greg Burrill) reached a tentative agreement with PPS for a successor agreement for Substitute educators.  You can view the videos of the bargaining sessions here.

A few highlights from our new Substitute agreement:

Duration:

The new Substitute CBA covers July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2024

Health Insurance:

PAT ensured no roll-backs on Substitute health insurance, and just as important, achieved very favorable terms for Substitute Insurance Eligibility following this COVID-19 impacted year.  Next year, any Substitute who did not have PPS Substitute insurance need only to have worked 60 days in 2020-2021 to be eligible for insurance next year. (Because of our pandemic-year MOU, Substitutes qualified for 2020-2021 insurance with 52 instead of the usual 70 days worked.) Any Substitute who already had insurance in 2020-2021 needs only to have worked 25 days in 2020-2021 in order to continue insurance next year.

This hard-won agreement means that individuals have their insurance protected in spite of how difficult it was to get work last year. 

PAT successfully negotiated new language related to dental insurance so that Substitute educator monthly costs will be protected from huge increases. 

Daily and Extended Rates of Pay:

The PAT team ensured that there are no changes to language that governs the rate of Substitute pay.  Because of that, the daily rate of Substitute pay will increase to $224.05 a day (up from $202.09).  The Substitute Extended rate (more than ten day) increases to $250.50 (up from $231.07).  The daily and Extended rates will increase each year in proportion to the regularly-employed teacher's negotiated cost-of-living pay increases each year.

Assignments:

The PAT team was able to win language that PAT Substitutes fought many years to achieve.  Administrators can no longer direct a Substitute to switch their assignment.

In addition, we also fended off an unjustified attempt to lengthen the Substitute educator school day from 7½ to 7¾ hours.

Materials:

Buildings now have a process to determine how many keys must be on-hand for Substitute use.  In addition, Substitutes will be provided with paper copies of class lists that they do not need to turn in, improving safety for students during fire drills and recess, etc.

Incentive Schools:

A great deal of time was spent negotiating ways to increase fill-rates in all buildings in PPS.  It has become clear that some buildings have continually had absence fill-rates in the 75% – 80% range.  That means that about 25% of all absences posted in those buildings go unfilled.  PAT and PPS have decided to call these buildings “Incentive Schools.”  Our colleagues in the regularly-employed PAT unit, and large numbers of PPS students of color, are harmed by these low fill-rates. 

PAT agreed with PPS to work to find ways to improve those fill rates through a combination of paid PD opportunities, increases in pay for work in Incentive Schools, and access to enhanced interview status for Substitutes who work consistently in Incentive Schools.  In addition, PAT and PPS have agreed to form a committee to work on additional ways to address the low fill-rates.  

Inclusiveness:

In addition to the substantive work of the Incentive Schools initiatives, we agreed with the District to make the final Tentative Agreement more inclusive by de-gendering pronouns.

PAT will soon have materials prepared for a ratification package to review for an on-line ratification vote.  The ratification package will show all changes from the current contract. 

Be on the lookout for those emails in the next week or so.  Keep in mind, you MUST BE A SUBSTITUTE AND A PAT MEMBER TO VOTE on the contract. 

If you are not a Substitute member, we want to hear your voice, so please consider using this application to join your colleagues in the PAT.  Remember, that Substitute educators only pay dues in months that they work.  Don’t let your colleagues do all the work of supporting the PAT and OEA! 

If you are becoming a new member, please also contact Kelly McKenna at [email protected] who will expedite your application for you to participate in the ratification vote.

It is through our collective voice that we are powerful, and it is with that power that we are able to make such significant gains in bargaining. 

Yours in Solidarity –

Your PAT Substitute Bargaining Team

Mark Oshin, Chair

Greg Burrill

Steven Alexander

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