PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Public Schools is threatening to file an unfair labor practice charge against the Portland Association of Teachers in response to the union's protest tactics during the ongoing teacher strike. Specifically, the district said it objects to protests staged outside PPS officials' homes and a protest that entered the Oregon Convention Center on Wednesday.
A letter from a law firm representing PPS, addressed to a firm representing the union, alleges that about 1,000 protesters affiliated with the union marched to the Oregon Convention Center on Wednesday, where PPS board member Andrew Scott was attending a Metro retreat event in his capacity as the government agency's Deputy Chief Operating Officer.
The letter alleges that the group's chants directly called out Scott, and that at some point, PAT members who had entered the building before the crowd arrived "opened secured doors allowing large groups of PAT protesters to enter a secured wing" where the Metro meeting was being held. The group attempted to force its way into the conference room, the letter alleges, and Scott had to be "evacuated from the facility."
The letter references social media posts that some of the protesters made during the incident. Some posts matching that description can be found on social media, such as an Instagram video that shows a crowd of protesters (including Caesar the No-Drama Llama) walking through one of the lobby hallways in the convention center. The union's own Facebook page shows photos of the march to the convention center, but no photos of marchers inside the building.
A letter from PAT's legal team Thursday called PPS's accusations "hyperbole and gross exaggerations."
In an email Saturday, William Howell of Portland Public Schools responded to PAT, saying, "This was a tactical circumventing of the Oregon Convention Center's safety and security protocols. People were sent into the building ahead of time to open doors from the inside, distracted security, folks in yellow vests directing people when to move, and someone sweeping through to keep pushing doors back open. All of this in service of intimidating one of the district’s Board of Education members."
In the attorney's letter, it stated the conduct was "unacceptable" and "undermines the hard work the bargaining teams are doing."
A Metro spokesperson acknowledged that the protest entered the convention center and said that doing so put it out of compliance with the center's Unscheduled Activities Policy, but said Metro can't definitively say how the protesters initially gained entry.
Pickets outside homes
The letter also describes a Wednesday morning rally outside the home of PPS Chief of Staff Jonathan Garcia, alleging that the protesters taunted him by "asking if their presence made him feel uncomfortable," and referenced a social media post announcing plans to hold a protest outside the home of Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero on Thursday.
Photos posted to Twitter on Thursday show protesters on a downtown sidewalk in the Pearl District, described as being outside Guerrero's home.
The letter contends that picketing outside individual homes in connection with a collective bargaining process could be grounds for an unfair labor practice charge under Oregon law. The letter also states that PPS is "evaluating other legal action that it may take to protect its employees and officials from PAT's threats, violence and terrorism."
The law in question, ORS 243.672(4), states that labor organizations could be subject to unfair labor practice charges if they encourage picketing at the residence or business location of a person who is a member of the governing body of a public employer, although it also specifies that this applies if "an objective or effect of such picketing is to induce another person to cease doing business with the governing body member's business or to cease handling, transporting or dealing in goods or services produced by the governing body's business."
The letter states that PPS will file the unfair labor practice charge unless PAT pledges by noon on Thursday that it will not continue to engage in similar picketing activities.
Meanwhile, PPS's legal representation has stated in a letter that "PAT has not violated ORS 243.672(4). Mr. Scott is an employee of Metro and the Oregon Convention Center is not a business owned by Mr. Scott. Thus, there has been no picketing of the residence or business premises of any school board member."
It continued: "PAT plans to continue its peaceful, lawful picketing at unit member worksites, its rallies, and other direct actions. Please be on notice that any effort to restrain or interfere with striking teachers’ rights of free speech and assembly and/or PECBA-protected rights will be met with swift legal action."
It's unclear whether PPS has followed through on its threat; as of Friday afternoon, the Oregon Employment Relations Board website shows that the district and the union have both filed complaints against each other in recent weeks, but none in the past few days. However, the most recent listed complaint on the website as of Friday was filed on Tuesday, so it's possible that more recent complaints are not listed yet.