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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2013)
...Teacher strike looms at Portland Public Schools (From Page 1) many other employers, PPS used to of- fer fully-paid health insurance for teach- ers and their dependents. Since 2004, teachers have paid 7 percent of the pre- mium. Now, the district wants to cap its current contribution at $1,431.32 per employee per month, a limit which would rise by 2 percent a year. If insur- ance costs go above that cap, teachers would have to pay 100 percent of the in- crease. PAT disagrees, and proposes that the 93-7 split be continued. • WORKLOAD. Teachers have summers off, but during the school year they work long hours: Beyond the hours they’re required to be at school, they spend time at home preparing lesson plans and grading schoolwork. Large class sizes increase that “off-the-books” workload — and decrease the quality of the classroom experience. But the exist- ing Portland teachers contract holds the line against overcrowding with a clause that says work load “shall be generally comparable to that which existed in the 1997-98 school year.” Last year, an ar- bitrator interpreted that to mean, for high school teachers, no more than 180 students, or an average of 30 students per class, since high school teachers teach six classes. PAT proposes to up- date the clause to refer to the 2010-2011 school year. PPS proposes to eliminate the work load restriction altogether. BATTLING CORPORATE EDUCATION REFORM can and should be measured by exten- the district’s bargaining stance, they see sive use of standardized tests, and they the district following the national cor- believe teachers and schools should be porate education reform template. Dis- judged, ranked, punished and rewarded, trict bargaining proposals would expand for student test scores. Schools and management rights, and diminish teach- teachers are told they must increase stu- ers’ rights. In contrast, PAT proposed an alter- dent test scores year after year, with no nate model of educa- new resources, or face dire consequences. ...when teachers look tion. In a contract pro- posal titled “providing Principals are assumed the schools Portland to be competent and at the district’s students deserve,” PAT fair: They can tell good bargaining stance, invites the district to teachers from bad join a fight for new ones, and they should they see the district sources of revenue to be given greater power following the restore electives, asks to fire bad ones — or the district to commit to force good ones to national corporate to reduce class sizes, teach in bad schools. education reform and asks the district to And if “outdated” template. District ally with the union and teachers union rules on discipline or transfer bargaining proposals parents to push back against educational re- get in the way, those would expand forms that narrow the must be swept aside. curriculum. That’s the nature of the management rights, “This is really a “reform” sweeping and diminish stepping-off point to through public educa- figure out what we as tion in Oregon and teachers’ rights. teachers, parents, and around the country, as community think pub- teachers perceive it. lic education should “Teachers are feel- ing attacked nationally,” says PPS board look like,” Sullivan says. “We want to member Steve Buel. “We need to be be education justice fighters. And sensitive to that, and I haven’t seen us maybe we don’t get a raise this year, but we do get a counselor in every single be very sensitive to it.” Buel, a retired teacher, is founder of building and a licensed media specialist, Oregon Save Our Schools, a group crit- and help for kids. I think they don’t ical of the corporate education reform know what to do with that.” PPS refused to discuss what PAT model. Buel says when teachers look at termed its “student-focused” contract proposal, deeming it a permissive sub- ject of bargaining. In response, PAT submitted what it called a “district-man- dated” proposal, inserting economic impact to some of its proposals. For ex- ample, the union proposed that the dis- trict give teachers a steep bonus if class size exceeds allowable limits. Since pay issues are mandatory subjects of bar- gaining, Sullivan says the proposal was intended as a way to force the district to talk about class size. The bonus isn’t the point, Sullivan said; the point is to pre- vent unreasonable class sizes. But PPS painted PAT’s class size bonus proposal as a money grab. Meanwhile, the district is paying $15,000 a month to labor relations con- sultant Yvonne Deckard. Deckard is a retired City of Portland human re- sources manager who is well-known to union members there for her aggressive style. Thus far, PPS has paid $240,000 for Deckard’s advice, on top of what it pays for its in-house HR director and di- rector of labor relations. PPS is also paying outside law firm Miller Nash upwards of $800,000 while also em- ploying in-house counsel. For months, PAT asked during bargaining to see the district’s outside legal bills, but received nothing but excuses. And in press releases and other pub- lic communications, the district has got- ten aggressive with the union, calling parts of the previous contract “out- dated,” and suggesting PAT was not se- rious about bargaining because it de- clined to meet during the summer. Sul- livan says bargaining has never taken place during the summer: That’s when teachers work other jobs, take vacation, and enroll in classes. With a strike beginning to seem likely, PAT has begun working to build community support. On Oct. 4, it launched a web site created by political consultant Mark Wiener, teachersand- parentstogether.com. The site asks teachers, parents, and community mem- bers to sign up to receive email updates, and to spread the word about the dis- pute on social media. A group of high school students — the Portland Student Union — has formed to support teachers. Several of its members have addressed the School Board, calling on the district to listen to teachers. “Please, set aside your reckless union-busting agenda, and do your job,” Cleveland High School senior Ian Jack- son asked board members Oct. 21. The group is also circulating an online peti- tion asking the district to return to the bargaining table. “I think it’s important to see the teachers union struggle in the larger context of the attack on workers,” said Madison High School social studies teacher Adam Sanchez, chair of PAT’s external organizing effort. “The teach- ers union is being attacked because it’s the largest unionized sector in the United States.” Beyond work rules and compensa- tion, there’s another dimension to the dispute. It’s a battle over what public ed- ucation will look like in years to come. Teachers perceive that they are under at- tack by a well-organized national move- ment, funded by billionaires and hedge fund managers, that is pushing a corpo- rate ideology on public school systems. Core assumptions of this movement are that schools are failing, and that teachers and their unions are to blame. Propo- nents of what has come to be called “corporate education reform” place great stock in ratings and rankings: They believe that educational achievement (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NOVEMBER 1, 2013
