“Who are we?”
“PAT!”
For 15 days, this was a common chant heard from dozens of teachers, students and community members clad in cobalt blue picketing outside of Grant High School on the corner of NE US Grant Place and NE 33rd Avenue.
Armed with chants and protest signs, the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) went on a historic strike within Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools (PPS).
They were fighting for a contract that met their needs and ensured a better education for their students.
The PAT and PPS reached a tentative contract agreement on Nov. 26, 2023, that was later ratified by nearly 95% of the union on Nov. 28. While it was a far cry from their initial demands, PPS educators were able to secure a 13.8% cost-of living adjustment over the next three years; parent–teacher committees to discuss class sizes; $20 million for temperature mitigation and building maintenance; a dedicated article in the contract for Special Education; and increased mental health resources for students, among other things.
Throughout the strike, solidarity proved to be invaluable to the union’s success: Solidarity between teachers demonstrated the PAT’s strength, and support from the community proved that Portlanders’ would not settle for less when it came to their childrens’ education.
“A strike is about every member (of the union), every educator standing up against the management,” says Holly Johnsen, a counselor and PAT school lead for Grant.
On the Grant picket line, the sense of community was palpable. Grant PAT members were able to march, chant and dance alongside one another, allowing them to interact in ways their structured work day seldom allows.
Feelings of frustration and unease, however, were prevalent as well.
Grant social studies teacher Andee Short says that while Grant teachers felt frustration towards the district, they were “ready to come back to work and more united than ever.”
Teachers are used to controlling their environment, says Anne St. Amant, a social studies teacher at Grant, but the prolonged strike and its uncertain outcomes felt out of their control.
A Grant sophomore, who requested anonymity, says their mother, a PPS kindergarten teacher, was worried about how the strike would impact her students and their families: “(My mom) believes in the cause, and knows it’s not her fault, but she can’t help feeling guilty.”
For many of the Grant students attending the picket line each day, their main concern wasn’t lost academic time — it was supporting their teachers.
“It obviously impacts our learning, but giving in to the PAT’s demands will be better for students in the long run,” says Grant senior Salem Connors.
“It’s my turn to show up for them,” says Calliope Ruskin, a Grant senior who has relied on teachers’ support for his community organizing in the past. The strike, Ruskin believes, was a valuable learning experience in and of itself: “Students are being taught that they need to go out and change the world!”
