Portland Association of Teachers considers unfair labor practice complaint as negotiations continue at anemic pace
Contract negotiations for Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of Teachers continued its sluggish pace Monday, with the union threatening to file claims against the district for bad faith bargaining, and both sides accusing the other of slowing down talks.
The district and the union have now met ten times since April but have failed to make significant headway on major issues, such as salary, health insurance benefits and a clause concerning teacher workload.
At the July 11 bargaining session, the union’s lead negotiator Marty Pavlik claimed the district was using “power play” politics after the district gave teachers a list of subjects they would refuse to discuss because they are not required bargaining topics under state law. Pavlik characterized the move as a possible ploy to slow down the union's momentum.
On Monday at the Portland Association Teachers office, Pavlik told the district's bargaining team that the union and its attorneys were still formulating a response addressing which topics they consider mandatory and are "considering" an unfair labor practices complaint because of the district’s actions.
An August 12 letter from Noah T. Barish, an attorney representing the union, said the teachers would need extra time to analyze which topics are mandatory and said they “fully expect that part of our response will include filing claims against the District for engaging in bad faith bargaining.”
The district “now attempts to avoid bargaining about many allegedly permissive