“PPS is blowing smoke, we know they’re not really broke,” the crowd chants.
The Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) has been on a historic strike for the past week. School buildings have remained closed and teachers have taken to the streets to picket for fair wages, healthy classroom environments and wraparound services for students.
A lot has happened this past week so there is a breakdown of each day and the progress both the PAT and Portland Public Schools (PPS) have made in their efforts to bring students and teachers back into the classroom.
Day 1 (Nov. 1):
The first day of the PAT strike made history as it was the first strike ever held in PPS, Oregon’s largest school district. Beginning on November 1, 2023, this strike put over 4,500 teachers and over 49,000 students out of the classroom.
To begin the first day of picketing, teachers and community members joined at the front of each of their respective schools to bring awareness to the people going past.
At 12:00 p.m. thousands of people filled the front field of Roosevelt High School as they joined together to listen to speakers such as PAT President, Angela Bonilla, United Teachers of Los Angeles President, Cecily Myart-Cruz, and the National Education Association President, Becky Pringle.
“I came here to tell you PAT, you are not alone,” Pringle said. “I bring with me the power of 3 million of your closest friends, the members of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in this country.”
Day 2 (Nov. 2):
On day two of the PAT strike, community members and educators gathered outside of PPS headquarters from 12-2 p.m. after the morning pickets at their home schools. The afternoon picket started with a performance from The Big Noise Strike Force Band, a collection of band teachers from across the district. Ida B. Wells’ English and Italian teacher and strike captain Joy Root spoke on the intolerable classroom conditions in PPS. “My classroom turns into a literal inferno,” said Root. “Even this past Tuesday when the temps were only in the upper 50s, my room was almost 80 degrees.”
Other guest speakers included Marcia Howard, acting president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, and Darshanpreet Gill, a science teacher at McDaniel High School.
“I would love the district to know that the person speaking is one of their Torch Award winners,” said Gill. “Ya’ll thought my brown face was good enough to be one of 30 to be commemorated for your photo ops last year. Guess it’s going to be good enough to listen to today.”
Day 3 (Nov. 3):
On day three, Ida B. Wells teachers picketed at the intersection that hosts the Hillsdale food carts from 8-10 a.m. Then at 12 p.m., the teachers met outside of Lincoln High School (LHS) to hear from Senator Elizabeth Steiner, LHS students, and more.
“Your superintendent, Superintendant Guerrero sat in public and said fund [Oregon] schools at 10.3 billion dollars,” said Steiner. “And guess what we funded at 10.3 billion dollars. And now they’re saying they don’t have enough to pay you properly? I’m just baffled.”
The crowd marched from Lincoln High School to City Hall where numerous speakers brought their voices to the movement.
Day 4 (Nov. 4):
The fourth day of the PAT strike brought teachers from Ida B. Wells High School, Robert Gray Middle School and Rieke Elementry School to the corner of Vermont Street and Bertha Boulevard in the morning before joining with all the west side schools at Providence Park at 12:00 p.m.
The group of teachers marched in the rain from Providence Park down Burnside as they brought their messages to the streets of downtown Portland.
Day 5 (Nov. 7):
On the fifth day, Ida B. Wells teachers occupied the corner of Barbur and Bertha Boulevard looking for the support of cars driving by.
Later that day at the PPS District Offices, district officials had a board meeting set for 6:00 p.m., The PAT encouraged people to arrive at the offices at 5:00 p.m. to surround the perimeter and make their presence known. This was in hopes of getting the district to come to the table and bargain with the PAT bargaining committee.
Day 6 (Nov. 8):
Today, the Ida B. Wells teachers picketed on Barbur from 8-10 a.m. before arriving at the PAT offices in North Portland. From the PAT offices, teachers and community members marched to the Oregon Convention Center to hear from Jacque Dixon, PAT Vice President, Maplewood Elementary School teachers, bargaining team members and more.
Samara Bockelman, a member of the PAT bargaining team, said, “I wanted to remind PPS and the entire board that they had not joined bargaining until yesterday [Nov. 7]. And only three of their members sat in a room with our PAT bargaining team to finally listen to what we’re demanding and asking for,” Bockelman said. “We also wanted to remind PPS and the entire school board that we have been bargaining since January.”
Meeting at the Oregon Convention Center was intentional due to PPS Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Metro, Andrew Scott attending a meeting in said building. Scott has been noticeably absent from PPS bargaining meetings and the PAT wanted him to hear their opinions.
“Maplewood members actually knocked on Andrew Scott’s door yesterday because Maplewood is just down the street from his house,” said Dixon.
Maplewood Elementary School teacher and parent, Katherine Anderson, spoke at the rally about her experience interacting with Scott yesterday.
“He [Andrew Scott] asked me if I was concerned as a parent that more planning time for teachers would mean less teaching time for students,” said Anderson. “I said ‘no.’ It’s about the quality of teaching.”
The crowd proceeded to file into the front entrance of the Oregon Convention Center with chants and a lama. They walked through the doors and proceeded to circle the building while security seemed unprepared for their presence.
The past week has made history and impacted the lives of over 49,000 students across the district. Tomorrow the pickets will continue at 8:00 a.m. in front of various schools followed by a student-led rally at 12:00 p.m. at NW Glisan and 11th Avenue.
PAT bargaining team member, Julia Fogg said, “We are sure that as long as they stay at that bargaining table with PAT bargaining team members that we will get this settled sooner rather than later while maintaining everything that we all need for great public schools across Portland.”
