User:Jaredscribe/Students Union of Substitute Teachers and Adjunct Faculty

Portland public schools Teachers Labor union has launched its first ever Labor strike on 1st November 2023, About 45,000 Portland students out of class, and teachers have been picketing schools and rallying. Unlike existing encyclopedic articles on the 2023 Portland Association of Teachers strike, the Los Angeles USD 2023 classified staff strike and the Oakland USD 2023 strike, this broad-concept resource presents original research (WP:NOR) that includes analysis, evaluation, interpretation, and synthesis. (WP:AEIS), and an initiative for an informal Students, Substitute Teachers, and Adjunct Faculty Union, which all who love learning are invited to join.

The Student Teachers demand the superintendent and principals unilaterally work to Open the Libraries for Independent Learning and Study Groups, while classrooms remain closed. We ask the teachers union to not oppose the recruitment of parent-volunteers and temporary student-workers as library custodians and as visiting lecturers. We also call for learn-ins and teach-ins in the libraries of PPS, and are holding them on the picket lines by sitting down and reading books instead of marching, chanting, and waving signs with the PAT teachers. Teachers should use this opportunity to learn their history and undertake professional development, which will aid lesson planning; they should not be holding concerts and dance parties to entertain themselves, as they currently are.

We ask for curriculum and calendar reform to be put on the agenda for future negotiations, with this and every future 11th November to be renamed Armistice of WWI Remembrance and Veterans Day, and discussion of future holidays forthcoming in the year ahead. We call a Nationwide General Student's Strike for 8th-12th Novemeber 2024, which gives teachers and administrators one full year to comply and consent to public hearings on our agenda.

We also present a Civilian Responses from the Medical science, Economic analysis, and Engineering law perspectives, with more perspectives hopefully to come, Parents and PTA Perspectives. History and Analysis of PPS/PAT Labor Dispute with Teachers Demands, the District's Response and Stated Constraints, opinions by City and County Officials, and State Legislators Response to demand for more state funding. Discussion and Colloquium

Civilians Responses
Proclamation of User:Jaredscribe/Armistice Remembrance and Veterans Day, and teach-in at the picket lines of PPS.

Medical Profession's perspective
Strikes can cause wounds, therefore strikes and fights should be avoided when possible, and when not avoidable, the wounds that are suffered should be allowed to heal by permitting scabs to form. Picking the scab off a wound prolongs the injury's recovery period, and can lead to infection. Scabs are necessary and good healing mechanism of the body: during the proliferative phase of wound healing fibroblasts enter the site and form fibrin scabs under which endothelial cells can migrate and undertake angiogenesis, protected from the outside environment. We object to the pejorative "scab" as a term of reproach for strikebreakers.

The demand to open the libraries is not strikebreaking anyway, and the PAT is asked to not construe it a "crossing of their picket lines".

It was not appropriate for the PAT union organizers, in complicity with Commissioner Rubio, to denounce to strikebreakers as "scabs" from the platform at their rally in front of city hall on Friday 3rd Nov., or for teachers on strike to loudly "boo" at this pronouncement, and for more reasons than this one.

Even more inappropriate is denunciation of educational leaders for bringing in parent-teachers as strikebreakers, regardless of the pejorative used, "scabs". Parents have a duty to teach their children even at home and to oversee their education, and they are not paid for this except in the honor they may hope to receive from their adult children in the future. Those parents who volunteer or work for lower pay, as assistant teachers and substitutes, are worthy of honor and praise, and should be supported in every way, regardless of whether they work for the love of their children or the love of knowledge.

Unlike coal mining, which we can learn to live without, learning is the essence of our human nature as political and rational animals, and parents are a child's first and most significant teachers. It is a sad commentary on the quality of teachers that none could understand or explain these obvious facts, which every intelligent sophomore can understand and affirm.

Economics and Knowledge workers perspective
Knowledge is not a limited or non-renewable resource and its acquisition is not a zero-sum game, and its present scarcity is apparently due to anti-competitive and obfuscatory practices by the guilds, intended to keep it in artificial scarcity so as to retain a monopoly on teaching. There should be no monopoly on teaching, nor any limit on learning.

An objection of false equivalence is raised on the grounds that the teaching of knowledge is not a good but a service, which is correct - and my usage of "non-renewable resource" does typically imply the former. However the objection is overruled on the grounds that "knowledge" itself is not a service, but a good. It is an intangible good, that can be reproduced indefinitely, provided that one has access to the books. Therefore it is correct to say that knowledge is not "non-renewable" or subject to natural scarcity, only artificially scarcity created by restricting access to the books. Furthermore, it is a good that can and should be put into service by the students who receive it - by transmitting it to others, that is, by teaching. Maintaining a library is also a service - but whereas acquiring and organizing a library requires skilled labor - maintaining it does not. Overseeing and maintaining a library can be done by any unskilled administrators, with student assistants, but we should expect them all to use the opportunity to increase their learning. Therefore there is not a constraint on supply of labor - except through artificially imposed scarcity emanating from neglecting duty of care.

An objection of false equivalence between a teachers union and a monopoly is raised, but not defended. Upper income families and those with greater social opportunities can seek private schooling and private tutors, on short notice, but this is not the case for the economically disadvantaged or for most middle class. For students without the geographic, economic, or social mobility necessary to find other schooling - which is most of them - the teachers union is a local monopoly, the equation is valid and computes to true. It should be stated that since governments often administrate monopolies in other municipal services such as clean water, sanitation, and garbage disposal, in order to realize efficiencies found in economies of scale, this alone is not a fault. The fault is when the monopoly power is abused. Has that happened here? This is an exercise for the conscientious student economist to consider and decide. Please leave comments on the talk page.

Legal and Engineering perspective
Wikiversity is a free university, where anyone can learn and anyone can teach, although it is not necessarily liberal. (And in fact it is not liberal, as far I can tell, at least not yet. Except in the political sense, in which it most likely is liberal, although I haven't verified this.)  When we say it is free, we mean so in the software sense of free as in freedom, but not as in pizza. Incidentally, it is also gratis, but that is an accident. To be precise, the software is licensed under the GNU foundation's GPL, and the content is all public domain.

Therefore we announce the immediate formation of a:

Students, Substitute Teachers, and Adjunct Faculty Union
Sign up by making a wikiversity account, announce the subjects your are competent and willing to teach, create some curriculum outlines, and add your user name to this list:

This union concurs with the Royal Canadian Legion in official opposition the national statutory holiday, in part because we believe that the time free from work or school would eventually overtake the memorial purpose of the occasion, and have discovered that this forgetfulness has in fact occurred for most students and government employees, sadly. Whereas having schools and government in regular session on that day would be an opportunity for children (and teachers) to be taught the day's true significance in a mandatory fashion, and for public servants to receive mandatory reminder.
 * User:Jaredscribe
 * User:Your_name

We declare this and every future 11th November to be Armistice of WWI Remembrance and Veterans Day, and will hold a teach-in on Friday and Monday in the libraries of PPS at the picket lines. If the teachers do not sit and learn their history, they ought to be released from employment so better teachers can be found.

In future years, we pledge to show up at school or work in spite of the holiday, to practice intellectual and moral leadership by teaching our peers and colleagues.

Graduate Student Workers Unions

 * www.princetongsu.org/ Princeton University
 * http://pdxgeu.org/ Portland State University
 * your university's grad student workers union(s) or organizing body.

Demand: Open the Libraries for Independent Study Groups
Students can unilaterally initiate their own independent studies and learning investigations, and they can help tutor and teach each other, and forming study groups and learning pods, (and contributing to wikiversity and wikipedia), with or without their parents or teachers' help. Principals, Librarians and parent-teachers should support this and ensure that while classrooms are closed, school libraries remain open and available for independent learning. Thus it is possible to scab up this wound, and scabs facilitate healing and prevent infection.

Online resources are not an adequate substitute for a library, to browse by subject. And public libraries and restaurants are not a substitute for the established and existing gathering place for students.

School librarians are represented by the PAT and are on strike along with teachers. They have the right to collectively bargain, and we support the valuable work they do and their right to use strikes as negotiating tactic, but we do not acknowledge any right to keep libraries locked or to supress available knowledge. There should be no monopoly on access to knowledge. We ask PPS principals themselves should facilitate the opening of libraries on a browsing-only and non-lending basis, in the schools they oversee. They should do this with or without the help of parent-volunteers or student-workers, and with or without the consent of the teachers' union, although we expect the PAT to concede to this demand. All acquisitions and improvement of the collection should be left on hold until the librarians return from strike, but the custodianship of the room and application of any discipline that may be required, is unskilled labor that can be done by the principals with help from students and parents.

If PPS administrators won't keep libraries open, then the teachers' union should appoint several teachers to provide a "humanitarian corridor" through the "picket line" and to keep the libraries open for students and parents who wish to sit and learn. If the teachers union cannot or will not facilitate this, and is preventing conscientious objectors among its teachers from undertaking this, then the teachers union has no reason to exist.

Trans-National General Student's Strike called before and during Armistice remembrance and Veteran's day
In 2024 the action will be done Friday 8th November 2024, and again while school is officially closed on Monday 11th November. If demands are not met, continue on Tuesday 12th November, the days before and after Armistice remembrance and Veterans day.

Take Direct Action to Occupy the Library and Teach-in
Portland Students are called to school, regardless of whether the teachers and the district have reached a deal. They are to gain access to the building through non-violent direct action, and to temporarily take adverse possession of the building by means of sit-in.

For districts where school is in session (other than PPS), students are to walk-out but remain on premises, and divide into study groups and teach-ins at the library, or else picket classroom doors and administrative offices, until the teacher union and district authority comply with your demands. This umbrella union suggests you demand your districts to discussion of our six reform proposals on the agenda for collective bargaining.

Ordinary learning should not be disrupted for those who wish to follow their existing schedules; we are more liberal than the teachers unions. We are picketing in order to invite and recruit colleagues, not to coerce or bully people into becoming comrades. In the year to come, we will undertake labor organizing, discuss the matters now on our agenda, and present our demand at or around this same holiday next year.

Calendar and holiday reform
See also calendar reform

such as days off for new moons and for the spring and harvest full moon festivals - which are universal astronomical events of long-standing civilizational importance - compensated by optional sunday school, but without the catholic dogmatism. We also call for schooling on most other federal holidays so that the national history can be taught on those holidays, rather than ignored as it is currently.

Extra-Curricular reform
In addition to Model United Nations, we call on history and civics faculty to join us and the model U.N. clubs in solidarity with this teach-in strike, help us organize a Model League of Nations to be convened on this and every future Armistice day. We demand learning about Wilson's 14 points, the Paris peace conference, the Interwar period and the emergence of fascism and communism in Europe and Asia, the mandatory system for the former Ottoman empire's possessions, and the post-colonial national liberation movements of Imperial France, Italy, and Britain's Asian and African territories, and related topics. To this end, we hereby announce a Model Paris Peace Conference to be convened here on wikiversity, and at every school IRL that goes on strike in solidarity.

Sports and theater should not be more important.

Student discipline reform
A student judiciary board can take appropriate disciplinary action against juvenile delinquents, but not against "strikebreakers" or "scabs". Local judges, district attorneys, and public defenders should volunteer a rotating schedule at teaching basic principles of law and justice, so that students and principals are empowered to set up limited jurisdiction courts of equity. This will solve a lot of problems disruptive behaviors and mental health problems in school, which are exacerbated by culture of amorality, lawlessness, and authoritarian control that is encouraged and demonstrated by many "responsible adults".

Physical Education reform
Should start with boundary setting and respecting: verbal and physical self-defense. Prior to sports, boys teams should learn semi-circle line dancing. Girls sports teams can learn this too, and should initiate it if the boys prove incapable of coordinated movement. If local customs permit, the two lines can face each other and join a circle with or without hands touching. An introduction to the ethics of courtship, romance, sex, marriage, and family can proceed or intervene.

Qi Gong. Hatha Yoga - but with no mantras, idols, vedantic mythology or "oneness" meditation. See the Alabama law for an analogue that addresses reasonable non-establishment of religion concerns.

Mental Health care reform
See above, also the Feldenkrais method, and other forms of bodywork that facilitate neurological retraining, self-regulating, and self-discovery.

Curriculum reform
Analyze Curriculum and report.

This is an RFP for an encyclopedic article on curriculum reform movements and proposals, to this project and also at our sister project wikipedia (or to any other wiki that may wish to challenge its monopoly over online encyclopedias).

History and Analysis of PPS/PAT Labor Dispute
The union follows lead of UAW and WGA in action over pay and conditions

Preparations as of Oct. 19th. 93 percent of members who participated in the strike vote, 98.9 percent voted "yes", gave a 10-day work stoppage notice. In a statement from Portland Public Schools (PPS) about the news of the strike vote, district leaders asked "educators to stay at the table...not close schools."

School district and Legislators weigh in on 6th Nov.

Bargaining with mediator from Employee Relations Board on Thurs. 10th

Read


 * The Oregonian’s independent analysis comparing the union and district proposals


 * Read proposals and counterproposals, negotions in collective bargaining.
 * The Oregonian 's editorial, arguing that, "PPS’ budget cannot reasonably accommodate what the Portland Association of Teachers is asking for and walking out won’t magically generate the additional $200 million needed for the district to meet the union’s demands."


 * Opinion pieces by our Board of Education and by the PAT's president

Listen


 * Dr. Renard Adams and Sharon Reese on OPB’s Think Out Loud
 * PAT President Angela Bonilla on OPB’S Think Out Loud

Teachers Demands
"They want smaller class sizes and more planning time. You know, we talk about the pay. The district is offering currently a 4.5% the first year, 3% each of the next two years. Teachers want almost double that."

PAT on "Why we're striking"

They want solid support for students with learning difficulties and special learning needs, they want teachers to not be primarily responsible for student discipline. They want wrap-around mental health services. Safer classrooms, smaller class sizes.

District's Response and Stated Constraints
RENARD ADAMS: We have already offered a cost-of-living increase that is more than our increase in revenue. We know the union's bargaining team believes that it's insufficient, but we cannot responsibly accept their proposed 23% increase.

district's proposals would have made PPS's educators "among the highest paid in the state," raising average salaries to more than $87,000, with more than 60% of teachers earning more than $90,000.

The school district published www.pps.net/strikeresources for during the school shutdown

It includes chromebooks and online tutoring, but the school libraries remain closed, so students are not given a place for independent study and formation of study groups.

City and County Officials
Although not in a position to make decisions, city and county officials could exercise intellectual and moral leadership. So far as we are aware, they have not yet done so.

State Legislators Response
Governer Tina Kotek, although elected with Teacher's Union support, has discouraged the Strike. She has stated that the issue of State funding is one for a future year.

Discussion and Colloquium

 * User talk:Jaredscribe/Students Union of Substitute Teachers and Adjunct Faculty


 * Colloquium


 * Colloquium