PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lecturers in Portland, Oregon, have voted to go on strike, their union introduced Friday, in one other signal of a rising nationwide organized labor motion that’s seen hundreds of employees in varied sectors stroll off the job this yr.
The Portland Affiliation of Lecturers’ strike would begin Nov. 1 until an settlement with the college district is reached earlier than then.
The union stated almost 99% of lecturers voted in favor of the strike, with 93% of its members taking part within the poll.
Lecturers have cited massive class sizes, salaries that haven’t stored up with inflation and an absence of sources as key issues. The union has been bargaining for months with the district for a brand new contract, which expired in June.
“College students want stability and skilled educators in our colleges, however the excessive price of residing is pushing lecturers to go away the district. I don’t know the way I’m going to outlive on a instructor wage in Portland and I’m on the prime of the pay scale,” stated Shannon Kittrick, a highschool educator, in an emailed assertion from the union.
Colleges will shut and there will probably be no classroom or on-line instruction if the strike takes place, in line with the district, which stated it desires to keep away from such a state of affairs.
“We wish to attain a good, sustainable settlement, and we are going to keep on the bargaining desk so long as it takes to get there. We ask our educators to remain on the desk with us, not shut colleges,” Portland Public Colleges stated in an emailed assertion.
The district is the biggest in Oregon with roughly 45,000 college students.
Public schooling has been gripped by a collection of high-profile strikes this yr.
Within the Los Angeles Unified College District, the nation’s second-largest, employees together with lecturers’ aides, cafeteria employees and custodians walked out for 3 days in March to demand higher wages and elevated staffing, shutting down schooling for half 1,000,000 college students.
In Oakland, California, the union representing lecturers, counselors, librarians and different employees went on strike for greater than every week in Might. Along with typical calls for reminiscent of larger salaries, it additionally pushed for “frequent good” modifications, reminiscent of reparations for Black college students and sources for college students who’re homeless.
