Portland Association of Teachers Says Educator Layoffs Violate Contract

The Portland Association of Teachers on June 8 filed a class action grievance against Portland Public Schools, for what it says are at least 77 educator layoffs for the upcoming school year that “blatantly violate collectively bargained layoff procedures.”

Specifically, Rachel Gumpert, a spokesperson for PAT, says the collective bargaining agreement includes a provision that layoffs be conducted based on seniority, “critically important” to prevent management favoritism in layoffs.

“Unfortunately, the vast majority of layoff notices issued do not adhere to that protected seniority-based process and appear to have been determined arbitrarily,” Gumpert says.

The union says it’s aware of 82 layoffs so far, but has no sense of the scale of layoffs. PPS chief of communications Candice Grose did not disclose the total number of educator layoffs to WW, citing the current grievance process. (PPS has 10 days to respond from the day PAT filed the grievance.)

“We disagree with the characterization that the district has violated the collective bargaining agreement,” Grose says, adding the district determined the layoffs based on a “complex review” of factors including seniority, licensure, and contractual requirements.

Gumpert says that while PAT recognizes seniority is not the only component for determining layoffs, it is a key factor that the union determined was violated in many instances after other considerations were weighed. She adds the district wasn’t transparent about the process, and that justification for layoffs was not consistent between schools. At times, she says, district justifications for layoffs provided to teachers at one site directly countered ones provided to teachers at other sites.

PAT president Angela Bonilla said any layoffs issued should “be issued in a manner that is fair and above board, not based on favoritism or management whims.” Bonilla added: “To issue this scale of layoff notices without adhering to the negotiated layoff processes shows a clear contempt for educators.”

The district recently settled a one-year contract with PAT, meant to provide short-term stability as PPS faces an ongoing budget crunch.