After 11 days of striking, Portland Public Schools (PPS) revoked the health insurance of Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) union members. As of Nov. 15, PAT educators have not been in the classroom for half of their contracted days in November, and according to their contract, this means they do not qualify for health insurance through the month of December.
“Originally PPS management said they wouldn’t take our health insurance away, that they wouldn’t use it as a bargaining tool,” said Alisha Chavez-Downing, a K-2 special education teacher at Atkinson Elementary School.
Today, Nov. 16, PAT union members received an information packet about the Consolated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) — an act that gives people 18 months of health insurance after leaving a job. Generally, a percentage of health insurance is paid for by the employer, however with COBRA people must pay the full amount of insurance premium, making it a more expensive avenue. The Oregon Education Association (OEA) has stated that they will be covering the expenses of COBRA for striking PAT union members. PPS predicted this will cost OEA $5.1 million.
During the district-wide PAT picket in front of the PPS District Offices, PAT members displayed photographs of their family members who are affected by the district’s removal of health insurance.
“I think it’s easy to see a group of people as a group of people and not individuals,” said Heidi Esbensen, a teacher at Kellogg Middle School. “So seeing people’s faces and the individuals you are going to harm, or possibly harm, has a big impact.”
Throughout the course of bargaining, there has been discourse over the PPS budget and the demands of the PAT. State funding for education is increasing by over $20 million per year from 2023-25, which the PAT argues would cover the majority, if not all, of their wage proposals. However, PPS continues to state they do not have the money to meet their demands. The PPS public budget forecasts do not include $15.4 million from the state revenues.
“This is an extension of how the district has been treating educators as disposable,” Julia Kirkpatrick, an educator at Grant High School said in a speech during the Nov. 16 picket. “And that has shown up in our pay, in our working conditions and in the conditions for our students. When the district views us as disposable, it’s okay to cut off access to the insulin that I need to continue living or the health care for my baby.”
For the 2023 school year, the district’s budget is $1.9 billion. Of that $1.9 billion, $1.25 billion is in a bond reserved for building renovations. The district’s current operating budget is $875 million, according to OPB.
The PAT has stressed that funding should go towards classrooms as opposed to central offices. For example, many have held signs pointing out the salary of PPS Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, whose salary in 2022 was $322,000. Additionally, Guerrero has a guaranteed 3% increase in salary every year and the district pays him $360 every month for car-related expenses, according to the Oregonian.
The PAT will enter day 12 of their strike tomorrow, Nov. 17, and have yet to settle with PPS. Today’s pickets highlighted the voices of parents and educators and how the district’s decisions have had an effect of their health and families.
“We are out here fighting for our students and our working conditions, but mostly for safe schools for all kids,” said Chavez-Downing. “For them to even think, or fathom, that it would be okay to cancel health insurance is mind-boggling.
