WEBVTT - Inside the Portland Teachers Strike 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:10.119 Cool Zone Media. Welcome to Dick. It appened here a 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:14.960 podcast being recorded in the like last hours of Halloween 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.800 in in the the I guess the closing minutes of 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:23.239 a teacher is in Portland not being on strike. So yeah, 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:25.560 this is this is a podcast that is often about strikes, 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.240 and here to talk with me about this is Britney Doris, 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.120 who's a fifth grade teacher in Portland public schools, who's 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.240 the union captain for her school and the strike captain 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.760 also for her school. Brittany, Welcome to the show. 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:37.560 Hi, glad to be here. 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:42.000 I'm really glad to talk to you. So all right, 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:45.080 we are we are in we are in zero hour. Yeah, 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:46.720 we're in the zero hour of the strike. By the 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:48.599 time this comes out, like I guess, you'll have been 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.800 on strike for like two days. Yeah, I'm assuming this 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:56.760 comes out Friday. Yeah, So all right. I think the 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:59.480 place we should start probably for people who are not 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:03.160 in poor people who haven't been following this. I guess 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:05.800 we should start with what are the sort of conditions 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.360 that have led to this. I have heard some absolutely 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.399 wild things about what's happening for the schools right now. 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:15.200 So how did we get here? 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:17.000 Yeah? 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:22.600 Yeah, we've been negotiating or bargaining this contract for over 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:28.119 a year and pushing for circumstances that are just better 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:31.640 suited for our students. Some of our classrooms that we're 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:38.280 dealing with situations like rodents and mold and still some 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:43.400 buildings dealing with lead in their water. Extreme temperatures like 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:48.440 class sizes are huge, but different depending on where you're 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:52.920 at in the city. Like, we've just been overcompensating with 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:57.600 less since the pandemic times, and we're fed up, we're 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:02.600 not able to do it anymore. And yeah, we're strike ready. 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:06.080 Yeah, and I mean this is something, this is, this 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:08.239 is this is I think a pretty interesting set of 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:11.880 circumstances because my understanding and okay, so don't quote me 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:16.560 on this. I'm pretty sure that the last time that 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.080 the Portland teachers went on strike was in the like 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:21.960 actually ended up striking and not just doing this strike 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.200 authorization vote was the was was during the eighties, So 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.239 it has been it has been a really long time. 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.080 It's literal lifetime. 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:32.840 Yeah, it's like I was not I was like two 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.000 of my lifetimes effectively, Like I was on a line 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:36.280 for this. 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:42.160 So yeah, I think we're seeing that shift happened nationwide. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:47.040 That education has been continuously public education has been continuously 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:51.399 chipped away at and eroded over the last few decades, 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.799 and more and more responsibility has put on the been 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:58.320 put on the backs of teachers, and we are not 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:04.960 able to function under this workload, under these conditions, and 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:11.360 without increased support for the educators as well. So I 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:13.960 think this is the culmination of kind of years and 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:19.000 years of disinvestment in public education nationwide. And so you're 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:23.680 seeing a lot more strikes, educational strikes coming up throughout 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:26.880 the country, and particularly for Portland's history. Like you said, 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.760 it's if Portland public schools have striked in the past, 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:34.080 it's been literal decades, not in my lifetime, not in 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:40.119 your lifetime, and just the continued frustration of decades of struggle. 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.920 Yeah, and I mean, as from what I've heard from 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:47.120 from people in the city. So the line that I 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:51.000 got was that janitors were being told that the standard 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:54.920 they were supposed to clean schools too was quote moderately dingy. 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:57.600 So things seem not good. 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:03.680 Yeah, it's rough. There's rodents everywhere. Our custodial workers are 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:08.000 already worked to the limit and understaffed, and so our 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.880 buildings show. I mean, the school that I work in 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.720 is over one hundred and ten years old, and you 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.799 can tell it's not being up kept and students are suffering. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.799 The conditions are, like you said, dingy, a moderate level 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:26.080 of approved dinginess supposedly, and that's gross. 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.400 Yeah, And I mean so I've heard that complains a lot. 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.440 I mean, I like, when I was in school, we 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:34.719 only had one we had well, I mean, there might 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:36.960 have been more. There probably were more rats we didn't see. 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.080 We had one drowned rat fall out of a ceiling, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:41.160 but that was it. It was. It was. We were 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.600 limited to one rat for four years. And I feel 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:45.680 I feel like that's the maximum number of rats that 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:49.120 you should encounter is maybe one because it's kind of funny, 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.120 but yeah, yeah. 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.440 And these are class pets, like these aren't no the 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:57.000 mice and rats that you're using in a science class 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.240 or keeping as the class pet in the corner. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:05.680 Like ooh yeah, and the other I guess I guess 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:07.480 the next thing that I wanted to talk about is 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:09.560 class sizes, because I know, I mean, this is a 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.520 very people have been like talking about this for ages, 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:16.719 and it's it's something that's really I feel like it's 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:20.000 weird negotiating wise because and this is something I see 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:21.880 all the time. The school dishesh will be like, well, 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:24.719 like the admin will be oh, well, yeah, of course 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.279 you want like smaller class sizes, and then they just 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:31.000 won't do it. So, yeah, could you talk about. 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:35.800 Yeah, here's something that's really burning my biscuit. Our district 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.680 management continues to tell our community and the press that 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:43.000 our average class size is twenty three students at the 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.800 elementary level. And the problem with that statistic is that 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.160 they are doing a ratio based on the adults in 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.279 the building. So, for example, we have a learning coach. 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:55.400 Uh huh. We have a learning coach who works with 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:58.200 children in small groups throughout the building, but she herself 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:02.360 is not a rostered classroom teach, but she is put 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.920 into that equation so that it looks like our classes 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:09.040 on average are twenty three when the reality is very different. 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:12.320 The music teacher doesn't count, the learning coach doesn't count. 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:15.480 But in the math that the district is like that 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.279 math ain't math in my class is thirty four kids. 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:20.760 You're telling the public that the average is twenty three, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.440 and it's just not true. Because you're including adults in 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.719 the building who aren't the host classroom teacher. 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.720 Yeah, which is that's just that's just absurd, Like, I mean, 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.359 you have to know that you're lying in order to 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:38.880 create that statistic, Like that's a h And I you. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.640 Know, it is true that there are some classes around 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.560 the district that are small. I had a miracle of 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.839 a class last year that was twenty two kids. That 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.600 coport was just small that you know, they weren't having 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.440 as many babies eleven years ago. I don't know. But 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.599 this year, this year, I have thirty four and the 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:59.440 year prior so not last year, but the twenty twenty 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:03.280 two years I had thirty two and thirty four kids 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:06.880 is unsustainable, especially because I have the twenty two to 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:10.360 compare it to. I am very aware of how little 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:14.760 capacity I have for meeting their needs, for teaching, the 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:16.880 wide range of levels that are in the class, even 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:18.960 for checking in with kids. I can look out at 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:22.119 my room at midday and think looking at a kid. 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.680 I don't know if I've talked to you, like, it's 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:27.880 possible to go so under the radar when there are 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:29.400 that many children to care for. 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:32.160 Yeah, And I mean that's a difference of like it's 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:36.520 like a forty percent class size increase, right, Yeah, good year, 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:37.680 which is nuts. 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.400 And I can feel and it's having a significant impact 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.560 on just my own well being and mental health this 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.840 year because I know what it looks like to teach 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.640 well and I know that I cannot currently do it 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.760 with this many and it's hard. Last year, I wasn't 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.240 feeling any symptoms of burnout at all. It's feeling really good, 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:56.640 loving my job still. And this year, I'm like, oh, 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:00.480 oh my gosh, I cannot keep up with this many kids, 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.360 especially with you know, we've gotten even so as class 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:07.640 sizes have increased, so have the needs of our students. Right, 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.120 We're dealing with a lot more mental health issues. We're 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.360 dealing with a wide range of neurodiversity that comes with 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:18.640 different needs. And so it's that's the thirty four now 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:23.440 is exponentially different than thirty four when we were young. 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:28.120 It's it's intense and it's unsustainable and I'm living it 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:28.640 every day. 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.200 Yeah, And like, you know, I think on an abstract level, 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:36.920 like the district knows like that this sucks, right, but 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:39.000 they just they don't fucking do anything about it. 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:43.959 It's just right, real, Yeah, and even to the level 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.280 that we're able to bargain it. There are things such 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.360 as like permissive topics that we can or cannot bargain 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.200 and things that we can bargain. And even in the 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:55.800 strike that we are about to have, they continue to 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:59.440 push back on the class cap request, saying that it 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:03.000 is a permissift topic and that it's class caps may 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:06.120 only be applicable to what are called Title I schools, 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.680 so schools where the population is more impacted by poverty, 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:14.160 and so they're trying, like even trying to get small 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.560 class sizes or smaller class sizes, knowing that it's a 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:21.560 district wide issue, may still only be successful for some 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:27.400 parts of our district. Yeah, and that's that, ain't right, Yeah? 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:29.600 Yeah, Yeah, that's absurd. 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:34.760 Yeah, Like, my classroom is incredibly diverse. We are not 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:37.959 a Title one school. We are known for supposedly being 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.719 in one of the more affluent areas, but even our 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.760 neighborhood school that those demographics have continued to change, and 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.640 we have many students that are experiencing poverty and experiencing 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:53.079 some of the cultural pieces that go with that, the 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.640 systemic impacts of that. Our students are living through trauma. 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:01.520 Our students are experiencing it for Our students are experiencing 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:06.280 racism and sexism and homophobia, and they are jam packed 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:12.120 sardines in a overheated room with no supports. I'm the 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.520 only adult in the room to support them. I have 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.880 students with disabilities who aren't getting support from our SPED 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.920 team because our SPED team is SPED stance for special education. 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.840 Our special educators are working with some younger grade students 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.720 with even bigger needs. So my fifth graders with disabilities 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.040 are getting completely left in the lurch. And it is 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:37.240 my single body with all thirty four and we're floundering. 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:43.080 Yeah, And I mean that's another sort of aspect of 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:47.000 this that I think is really like, is really grim, 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:52.520 that all of these issues. It's like, the kids you 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:54.760 need the most help from the beginning are the people 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:56.960 who are getting the most hurt by it, and right, 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:59.960 you know, and those are the people who the education 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.920 system is supposed to be taken care of and just 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:08.760 cannot because yeah, you know, chronic understaffing, class sizes that 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:10.120 are too large. 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:13.720 Right, And it's especially painful. I've been teaching now for 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:16.439 ten years and I am looking at this class right now. 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.600 I have a student in my class who is a 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.480 little black boy with a disability, and I'm looking at 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:24.800 him knowing that I am not able to give him 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.680 what he needs. And he is like the statistic that 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.680 school districts want to put on their website, like we 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:34.959 got you know, our our marginalized populations, We've helped them, 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.719 we fit and like, here is a student that is 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:41.360 the statistic that you supposedly are fighting for, and he 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:44.800 is absolutely left out to dry and I am trying 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.520 to do what I can for him, and he comes 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.439 to mind. I picture him as I'll be out there 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:50.280 on that picket line, like I am out there for 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:53.319 that kid as well as his thirty three other classmates. 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:57.720 But just like quint essential picture of who I'm fighting 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:00.520 for and who is getting left behind? 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.679 Yeah, which which which I don't know? Like there there's 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.320 there's I think there's something really grim in the way 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:09.240 and this is this is a you know, this this 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.000 goes back to what you were talking about with the 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.120 way that they're just straight up lying about the average 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:18.240 the average class size, where it's it really seems like 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.440 these things have you know, the the actual process of 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:25.320 education is being degraded into just this this sort of 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.560 metric chasing game. And you know, as long as you 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.280 have metrics that look good, you know, like the district 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.480 is like, wow, okay, it's fine that, like, our students 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.040 aren't equality of education they need. It's fine that they're 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:40.680 in these buildings that are literally falling apart. It's fine that, 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:42.560 you know, kids aren't getting what they need. Like, as 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.719 long as the metrics look good and right. 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:48.080 That's something something that gets me when we talk about 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:52.720 those metrics. Knowing our superintendent gets a bonus if academically 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.440 marginalized populations like our black and brown students, if they 0:12:56.600 --> 0:13:01.120 increase their performance on standardized tests, he gets a bonus. Now, 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:03.480 what I have a problem with is that those standardized 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:07.040 tests that we take every spring, there are some students 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:11.200 that are so impacted by the school system that they 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.840 may have attendance issues, they may not be there consistently 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.280 in the spring to take those tests. So something I'm 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:22.079 picturing a couple of my students who were impacted by poverty, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:26.040 were kids of color and were significantly absent due to 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.480 what the circumstances of their life. Those students were not 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:32.480 able to take that test in the spring. That means 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:35.560 those students, those black and brown students, that data wasn't 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.240 in those metrics. So even the metrics that are being 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.640 used to measure whether or not we are successfully supporting 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:44.440 our students of color are inaccurate because our most impacted 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:48.959 students aren't able to take that assessment. Like his data, 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:52.280 our superintendent's data is going to look better when some 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.520 of the students who might tank that data because they 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.040 are unsupported by the school system aren't there to be 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:00.720 in the data because they're unsupported by the school system. 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:03.520 It falls apart. 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:05.400 And this is one of these things where it's like, 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:08.840 the only way to change this is do is do 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.880 union actions because like the school district's not going to 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.520 do it, like their metrics look fine, right and right, 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:15.800 you know, the government is not going to do it 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.120 because they're not going to they don't want to spend 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.480 more money. So this is this is the only way 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:20.640 to actually. 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.440 Yeah, and I think we finally, I think have made 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.760 a point. We are I mean, our union actions already 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:31.280 have been building up a visible presence. We have massive 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:34.480 community support from our not only our parent communities, but 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.400 the greater Portland area. Business is coming out and support 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.000 people joining us at like we had a massive march 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.760 this Saturday where we took over the Burnside Bridge. And 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:46.200 as our union actions build, we know that we are 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:48.920 out there, we are not alone, and that we are 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.120 feeling the support from the community and we are becoming 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:55.800 a more visible presence, and especially in Portland, we are 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.160 a massive union. Other unions around the state are looking 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.600 at us and watching how this goes. And we can 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:05.520 tell that the district management is scared. They are starting 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.160 to send out emails to families that are meant to 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:13.840 intimidate and panic and cause chaos. And we're seeing these 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:17.200 defensive moves that are a reaction. 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.560 Do you know who else is a hack and a fraud? 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:21.520 Who did who didn't figure out a way to do 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:23.360 an ad pivot here? It's the it's the products and 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:25.080 services that support this podcast. 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.680 Yeah, speaking of businesses that support. 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:44.760 Us and we're back. Yeah. So you know, okay, So 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:46.800 that that those are Those are two other dynamics that 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.960 I I sort of I wanted to get into. I 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.640 guess first I want to talk about what the what 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.760 the community support has looked like, what fourthmore the unionses 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:58.800 look like and you know, how how you've been engaging 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:00.320 with parents, because I mean that that's it's been a 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:02.120 big thing. So I'm from Chicago and so we have 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.320 like a I mean not that long, like for the 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.560 last about decade, the Chicago Teachers Union's been on strike 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.520 a bunch of times, and it's yeah, like it really 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:13.320 and the support of that and the engagement of that 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.000 really is one of the few things us in making 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.400 Chicago a better place. So I wanted to ask what 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.720 that's looked like in Portland because this is basically the 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.520 first time for y'all right. 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:27.240 And I know historically in Oregon we felt the support 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:30.600 from our community, such as the Red for Ed movement 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:32.720 a few years ago when we were really pushing for 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:37.120 statewide reform and change in education policy. And here in 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:41.840 Portland ever since, the seeds of our uprising were being 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.200 planted knowing that we are on a collision course towards 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:49.560 a strike based on how poorly the district management is 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:53.880 bargaining with us, and so we started to build in 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:58.320 that communication and enlist the support of our parent communities 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.800 pretty early on by having info sessions, by talking about 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.200 you know, the community's wants and desires for their students, 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:11.320 connecting with our schools, ptas, connecting with local businesses, especially 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.359 as in the last month or so that we felt okay, 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:16.880 this is happening. We are about to strike. We need 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:20.400 to connect with our communities in our school areas and 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.160 see who's out there and if they have our back. 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:28.119 And it's been really profound in grassroots organizing between the 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:33.120 parents and the ptas in tandem with our unions and 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.720 from businesses around our school areas. We attended an event 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:40.120 called Strike School to prepare and one of our missions 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:44.600 was to check in with businesses and neighbors in the 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.040 areas of our schools where we plan to be picketing 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:48.959 and seeing, you know, where can we go to use 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:51.280 a bathroom, where can we go to use a parking lot, 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:54.920 and just making those connections, some of which already existed. 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.240 Even though Portland hasn't had to strike, We've been very 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:02.399 connected to our communities because the educators live in these communities. 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.880 This is my community. Unlike some of the big wigs 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.160 in the big pink building of management, like they are 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.879 coming in and out in a few years. We're from here, 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.320 we are here to stay, we are here to make 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.760 those connections. So it was very easy to call upon 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.199 those connections because we are the community. You know, we 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:22.399 have a lot of union members that are parents. We 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.600 have a lot of union members that are married to 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:30.320 business owners in the area. We've Yeah, it's been it's 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:34.080 been obvious who lives here, who's fighting for these kids 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:36.080 because this is our community. 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:40.800 Yeah, and you know, I mean, Portland's been a place where, 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:43.199 I think, kind of beneath the notice of a lot 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.920 of the national press, it's been one of the places 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:49.280 where the most union organizing is happening and where the 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:53.560 most strikes have been happening. And yeah, I was wondering, 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:56.040 I mean, to what extent have y'all been influenced by 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:58.960 I mean both the sort of the just profusion of 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:01.280 like local strikes and then also the kind of the 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:02.720 bigger national strikes. 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:05.960 Something really beautiful about living in Portland is that there 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:12.119 is quite a bit of cross union solidarity. And like 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:15.119 in the educational realm, we have a coalition of all 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:18.320 of our unions that come together the certified teachers like 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.840 my union PAT as well as SEIU, the union that 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:26.600 represents our custodial staff, as well as PFSP our para educators, 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.919 our nutritional staff, the bus drivers union, like, all of 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:33.960 those unions come together and support each other. And in fact, 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.360 in the educational realm of Portland, multiple unions are on 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:41.800 the verge of striking in that they are having unsuccessful 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.800 bargaining attempts. But then also with like the ups workers, 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:51.399 with Kaiser pharmacies and the medical field, like, there is 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.399 labor action all around Portland and there's definitely a built 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:59.040 in solidarity network from unionity to union. Our union siblings 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:02.760 are with us. We have been with them throughout the years. 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:05.399 I think we do a really good job as a 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:08.400 major city of wrapping around each other's unions and supporting 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:12.960 big actions. And you know, Portland, when we do get 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:16.720 national press, it is for how rambunctious our little city 0:20:16.760 --> 0:20:19.840 can be. And this is some of that good trouble 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:22.240 that that John Lewis would want us to get in. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:24.880 Yeah, and I mean this is something that you can 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:27.440 I mean, so I was in Portland for like three 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.960 weeks pretty like recently, and I mean you would just 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:35.040 run like I was. I was at a hospital for long, 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.120 long story about that, but I was at a hospital 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:39.800 and like the first person we talked to is like 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.600 as a receptionist was like the union rep from the 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.760 receptionist union, and then like we're talking to the nurses, 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:47.480 and the nurses are like, oh, yeah, we just won 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:49.320 our We just won our thing, not having to go 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:51.680 on strike because management caved. It's it's a really sort 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:55.560 of incredible place to be in terms of like just 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.600 just the energy and just like the amount of stuff 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:02.800 that's happening there. It's really sort of incredible, very active. 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.520 I guess the other side of this is that this 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.960 we've also seen a lot of sort of management retaliation 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:14.119 and crackdown attempts. And yeah, I was wondering if you 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:17.800 talk about what management's been doing, because yeah. 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:22.439 Yeah, it's really ramped up in the last week or 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:25.040 so as it is clear that we are on our 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:27.679 way to strike, especially when we ninety nine percent of 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:31.160 the membership voted yes to a strike authorization. That sent 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:33.920 a pretty clear message and I think it made district 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:37.639 management panic a little. And we've received numerous emails to 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:42.560 the parent community. They have for example, they are training 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:46.880 tomorrow Thursday, the day of our strike beginning, or when 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:51.359 on Wednesday, the day that the strike begins, they are 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:56.000 training our para professionals and eas in how to deliver 0:21:56.359 --> 0:22:01.359 virtual phonics instruction. One of their moves was to cause 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:04.200 panic in the families by sending emails home that say, 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.280 your student, based on their test scores, is a struggling reader. 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:09.679 Here's the plan should there be a school closure, that 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:13.720 we're going to provide virtual learning opportunities. So immediately you've 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:16.840 got parents in a panic emailing their teacher like by 0:22:16.920 --> 0:22:20.200 students struggling, why didn't I know? And in many cases 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:22.920 that was inaccurate. A second grade teacher at my school, 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:25.640 every parent in her class got that email, and sure 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:28.639 she has some struggling readers, but it is not every student. 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:32.520 Why did every student's family get that email? To cause panic, 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:37.280