Portland Public Schools Bargaining Heats Up

Jan 29, 2008 - Close to 500 workers who are members of Service Employees International Union Local 503 keep Portland Public Schools (PPS) healthy and safe for our kids.

Just over 300 Portland Public School Custodians keep more than 9 million square feet of space clean and safe.

Please call Carole Smith at 503-916-3200 Ask her to make safe and healthy schools a priority.

Rally Nov 19, 2007.

In 2002 Portland Public Schools fired its Custodians and replaced them with contract janitors. In 2006later the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the firings illegal and ordering the Custodians reinstated.

Current Portland Public School Custodians' starting pay is $13.25/hour. Nutrition workers' pay is the lowest in the district – an Aide who prepares meals in our schools earns $9.62/hr.

PPS entered into bargaining proposing pay cuts of up to 33% for Custodians. After eight months of bargaining, the Portland Public Schools has modified its proposal and is now demanding pay cuts up to 20%.

Custodian pay scales proposed by PPS would reduce starting wages by 15-31%, making them as much as 24% below the average for Oregon schools according to PPS' own market survey.

Nutrition Service workers' wages rank from 2%-28% lower than the average wages in Oregon schools according to the same PPS market survey.

SEIU is proposing no cost of living increase in the first year of the contract and a new 15-step pay scale for Nutrition Service workers that increases wage rates 1.5 - 7% to bringing them closer to wages in other Oregon school districts.

Portland Public Schools is offering Nutrition Service workers a 1.5% cost of living raise this year and 2% next year. Additionally they have proposed to consolidate elementary school and middle school lead workers into one classification increasing school leads' pay by an additional 1.7%.

SEIU has offered to accept the PPS proposed pay scale for Custodians and no cost of living adjustment the first year of the contract as long as current workers maintain their pay rates. PPS is proposing to cut wages by 20% for all Custodians unless they declare they will retire prior to July 1, 2009. Workers who declare they will retire may maintain their current pay rate until retirement.

PPS contributes $698/month on behalf of full-time Nutrition workers and Custodians toward health insurance. Workers' premium share cost up to $221/month.

PPS's actual health care contribution for 2006-2007 was 2% below the average for other Oregon schools according to the PPS market survey. PPS did not increase its contribution for the 2007-2008 while many other Oregon school districts did.

Part-time workers hired after Nov 2006 are ineligible for any health care contribution by the district, yet PPS provides pro-rated health care contributions to other employees. Most other Oregon schools provide some level of contribution toward part-time health care.

Workers propose extending a pro-rated health care contribution to part-time workers and increasing PPS's average monthly health care contribution to $779 in 2007-08 and $850 in 2008-2009.

Part-time workers who were hired after November 2006 are not eligible for any health care contribution by the district. PPS provides a pro-rated health care contribution to other district employees and most other Oregon school districts provide some level of contribution towards part time health care.

Negotiations began May 22, 2007. The contract between SEIU Local 503 and PPS expired on June 30, 2007 but has been extended. On December 27, 2007 the union and entered into mediation.