Educational institutions throughout Portland, Oregon, have suspended classes due to an indefinite walkout by teachers, in light of unresolved contract negotiations between the school district and the union. The closure comes into effect this Wednesday.
“We are wholeheartedly committed to our strike, leading our drive for the district’s alignment with our demands. Our pursuit? To offer every student in Portland the opportunity to gain quality education in a top-notch public school,” announced the Portland Association of Teachers on their official Facebook page on Tuesday.
Catering to a student populace of over 49,000 across an impressive 81 different institutions, Portland Public Schools finds itself one of the principal school districts in the Pacific Northwest. The union dutifully represents over 4,000 certified educators within this district, as revealed by their Facebook page.
This impasse is not an isolated incident but adds to the growing tally of workers nationwide opting for strikes in the recent months. Demonstrators hail from an array of occupations, ranging from scriptwriters in Hollywood to nurses, automakers, and factory workers.
As early as March, Los Angeles experienced a union-led strike involving 30,000 school custodians, cafeteria staff, bus operators, and other auxiliary personnel. This three-day strike resulted in a cessation of classes for over half a million students within the country’s second-largest education system. Similar disruptions have occurred in school districts nationwide; educators and school workers in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Columbus, Ohio, demand improved working conditions.
Months of negotiations have culminated in Portland teachers picketing for a fresh three-year contract with the district. Their primary concerns gravitate around compensation, student discipline, class size, and allocation of school resources for the provision of housing facilities for homeless students.
Particularly contentious is the union’s bid for a 23% cost-of-living increase, spread across the next three years. In contrast, the district offers a cumulative 10.9% increase for the same duration.
“Our educators are deserving of salaries and benefits that permit them to reside in the same neighborhoods as their students,” argued the union on their official webpage. The union also expressed its disappointment Tuesday over the school district’s proposal falling below expectations.
“Regrettably, the district’s offer did not even meet our already tempered expectations,” stated a union representative, reflecting on their anticipation of the proposal that afternoon, in a video message shared on their Facebook page.
While the district is yet to issue an official response to the strike, it stated that it intends to apprise families on Wednesday evening of the reopening of schools or their continued closure on Thursday.
