Inside
MEETING NOTICES
See
Page 6
Volume 108
Number 23
December 7, 2007
Portland
Portland school employees are
Getting Restless
Portland Public School employees, family, friends — and ATU’s Pepper the
Greed-Fighting Possum, held a loud demonstration outside district
headquarters Nov. 19 to let the school board know they are growing tired of
stalled labor negotiations.
Custodians, cafeteria workers, bus
drivers, classified employees and teach-
ers at Portland Public Schools held a
loud demonstration at the district office
Nov. 19 to draw attention to stalled la-
bor negotiations.
Nearly 200 workers, community al-
lies and politicians rallied an hour be-
fore a scheduled school board meeting.
Afterwards, the group took their protest
inside to the meeting, where they
pleaded for a quick and equitable settle-
ment in contract negotiations.
Eighty-five special education school
bus drivers represented by Amalga-
mated Transit Union Local 757 have
been working without a new contract
since Jan. 1, 2006. Service Employees
Local 503 is in stalled negotiations on
behalf of 188 nutrition service workers.
And 287 full-time and 17 part-time cus-
todians represented by SEIU are trying
to get a first contract after winning a
lawsuit against the school district for
privatizing their work four years ago.
The cafeteria workers’ contract ex-
pired June 30, 2007.
Also expiring June 30 was the con-
tract for 1,300 clerical workers, nurses
and library and teacher assistants repre-
sented by Portland Federation of Teach-
ers and Classified Employees Local
111. They began bargaining in April.
In June, the school district imple-
mented a “last, best and final” offer to
its maintenance crew, who had been
working under terms of an old contract
for more than a year. That group of
more than 100 workers from a dozen
different union locals bargains jointly as
the District Council of Unions. A few
months later workers ratified a four-
year contract by a single vote. The deal
contains two bonuses, a $779 cap on
health insurance premiums, and raises
of 3 percent over the life of the pact.
“It’s the same tired story — do it all
for less,” said ATU 757 President Jon
Hunt.
Drivers voted down a school district
proposal Oct. 30. The sides now will
enter mediation in January 2008. [Reg-
ular school bus drivers work under a
separate contract with First Student]
ATU pulled out of the DCU after the
last contract two years ago.
“We took the bold move to leave the
DCU because of our unique situation,”
Hunt said. “And, if we need to strike —
we are unified and ready to do so.”
The unique situation Hunt spoke of
involves state funding. For every $1 the
school district pays to transport special
education students, it is reimbursed 70
cents by the state. Ever since co-pay-
ments for health insurance kicked in,
the union has fought to reduce the out-
of-pocket cost of drivers (who all work
part-time) to the actual amount the
school district pays on. Drivers earn be-
tween $12.66 to $16.51 an hour, or
about $13,000 a year. When adding in
the cost of health insurance, these
lower-paid, part-time workers shoulder
the biggest burden.
“It hits us harder because we’re be-
ing asked to pay the same amount for
our health coverage as someone who’s
making $50,000, even $100,000 a
year,” said bus driver Randy Shaw.
(Turn to Page 10)
Multnomah ESD classified staff go on strike Nov. 30
Following months of contentious bargaining, classi-
fied staff at the Multnomah Education Service District
went on strike Nov. 30.
About 380 employees are members of American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) Local 1995. The two sides met with a state
mediator for seven hours on Nov. 28, and for six-and-
one-half hours on Dec. 3, but those sessions yielded lit-
tle movement and no agreement.
The current contract expired June 30 and MESD im-
plemented its final offer Nov. 29. At press time, there
were no talks scheduled.
“We tried,” said Oregon AFSCME Public Affairs Di-
rector Don Loving. “Typical of these entire negotia-
tions, we sent five different proposals to MESD man-
agement through the mediator. Their response was ‘no,
no, no, no and no.’ ”
AFSCME presented a sixth offer at the Dec. 3 medi-
ation that Loving said would have brought the two sides
to within $200,000 of an agreement. MESD rejected it,
too. Leading up to the strike, Loving said the sides were
apart by roughly $300,000 to $400,000. MESD main-
tains it would cost another $1.4 million to meet the work-
ers’ requests.
MESD is represented at the bargaining table by
Salem attorney Bruce Zagar. As reported previously in
the Labor Press, Zagar has a reputation for a take-it-or-
leave-it style. He represented the Oregon Trail School
District in Sandy in 2005 and that resulted in a bitter
month-long teacher’s strike there.
Wages and benefits are the two major issues in the
MESD dispute, with health insurance premium costs —
particularly for MESD’s permanent 30-hour a week
workers — a major sticking point.
According to the union, most other ESDs — which
are smaller and substantially less well-funded — con-
sider permanent 30-hour-a-week-employees to be full-
time when calculating health care benefits. Not Mult-
nomah ESD. “This local includes many employees who
work 30 hours a week, not by choice, but because that’s
all the hours the district offers them,” Loving said.
MESD is one of 20 special regional education dis-
tricts in Oregon, funded by the state to help local school
districts with services like special education for students
with disabilities. The largest single group of MESD
employees — about 175 — are educational assistants
who work in classrooms with special needs students.
Others provide technical support services, school health
functions and Outdoor School to eight Multnomah
County school districts, including Centennial, Corbett,
David Douglas, Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose, Portland
Public, Reynolds and Riverdale. Depending on their job
title and experience, they earn from $11 to $17 an hour,
and average $26,000 a year.
“We have folks who spend half their take home pay
on health care premiums,” Loving said. “The District
has permanent employees on food stamps and other so-
cial services. They should be embarrassed how they
treat their employees.”
On its Web site, MESD says its implemented con-
tract “...is not subject to change in response to emo-
tional or political tactics. Any monies redirected for a
larger settlement would cause MESD to curtail critical
services and cut jobs.”
Loving noted that MESD has a $10 million unappro-
priated fund balance that it carries each year. “This is
not a matter of MESD being unable to afford a settle-
ment,” he said. “They just don’t want to treat their em-
ployees fairly.”
Pickets went up at 7 a.m. Nov. 30 at the MESD ad-
ministration building on Northeast Airport Way in Port-
land. They later spread to other schools serviced by the
District, such as Alpha High School in Gresham and the
(Turn to Page 4)
Shirley Currey
of AFSCME #1995
walks picket line
in front of MESD
administration
building in NE Portland.