Hello Educators,
Your elected Bargaining Team has their first Bargaining Session with PPS Management THIS THURSDAY, January 29th from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Marshall High School (3905 SE 91st Avenue, Portland, OR 97266-2815). As soon as we know which building, we will let members know.
Show your support for our Bargaining Team by wearing PAT blue on Thursday, January 29th!
What are y’all going to talk about?
The Bargaining team met yesterday evening to discuss and develop the proposals that will be presented, the counter proposal for the ground rules, and talk about the different roles each team member will hold during bargaining, from notetaking to keeping up morale. The team uses the Fist to Five tool to make consensus based decisions, with the understanding that if there is a lack of consensus, those who are in disagreement are responsible for bringing an alternative plan or option. This allows for the largest amount of voices and concerns addressed without leaving anyone behind. One decision we made was to attempt to hold as many bargaining sessions after work hours to allow for member participation, reviewed and created a counterproposal for the District’s ground rules proposal, and finalized specific issues for the 5 articles we hope to present.
I wore my PAT blue and showed up to bargaining. Now what?
When folks arrive at bargaining, we ask that you do the following:
- Check in: Sign in with our QR code and find a seat.
- Voices off: We ask that the audience be silent during the active bargaining session and caucuses, which includes shouting out or whispering with neighbors. Feel free to pass notes or let your facial expressions speak for you.
- Show support: We will have signs available when you arrive! If you would like to make your own sign, we ask that any signs you bring be an 8.5x11 size (so you don’t obstruct anyone’s view) to encourage our bargaining team and show the district we mean business. Some ideas are: “Class size caps NOW!”, “Chop from the Top!”, or anything speaking to the concerns you feel most passionate about.
We have the most democratic and transparent bargaining process we've ever had because members like you spoke up, gave feedback, ran for the bargaining team, and took our first bargaining survey. We will continue to send out communications in the Advocate and stand alone Bargaining Briefs to keep all members in the loop, especially if they are unable to attend. Here we go!
In Solidarity,
Angela Bonilla
PAT President
Portland Association of Teachers
https://www.pdxteachers.org/