Portland, Ore. Teachers' Strike Ends

Facts

• More than 40K Portland students Monday returned to classes after the end of the city’s first-ever teachers’ strike, which started Nov. 1.¹
• Members of the Portland Association of Teachers on Sunday came to a tentative agreement with Portland Public Schools (PPS).²
• Union members were scheduled to vote on the contract Tuesday, while the PPS school board plans to hear public comment on the deal and then vote on it at its meeting Tuesday evening.²
• Teachers — who went on strike over issues related to salaries, classroom size, and mental health support for students, among other things — will receive a 13.8% cost-of-living increase over the next three years in addition to opportunities to earn more.³
• There will be added classroom time for elementary and middle school students, and teachers will receive more planning time.⁴
• Students missed 11 days of school but will make up for it with a shorter winter break, three fewer days of summer vacation, and three days added to the school calendar that were previously days off.⁵

Sources: ¹ABC News, ²OPB, ³Associated Press, ⁴Axios and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by National Review. It's about time the teachers dropped their untenable financial demands and did what's best for children, who still missed far too much school. The teachers' union victimized both children and their parents, who were having COVID shutdown stress disorders while the strikers were on the picket lines. It’s time to get back to work and do what's best for the kids.
• Left narrative, as provided by CNN. The teachers' union did what was necessary to secure vital improvements and financial commitments for a better future for both teachers and students. This was a watershed moment for the teachers of Portland, but also another case of workers from varying sectors in the US getting fed up and using union action to force better working conditions.