OPINION: Why Senate Bill 916 is critical for good faith negotiations, protecting all workers

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Public sector strikes, particularly in our schools, are rare events.

As a school board member and someone deeply involved in public education, I understand how much effort goes into negotiations between workers and employers to reach an agreement. Strikes are a last resort, only occurring after a lengthy, regulated process.

However, the current system leaves workers vulnerable to long periods of uncertainty without financial support while the people across the bargaining table from the workers still receive full pay. This is why Senate Bill 916 is so crucial for ensuring that public sector negotiations continue in good faith without starving out workers.

Under Oregon law, striking in the public sector isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s a process that involves a minimum of 150 days of direct bargaining. If no agreement is reached, mediation by the Employment Relations Board kicks in, adding another 15 days to the process. If mediation doesn’t resolve the issue, there’s a cooling-off period of at least 30 days, followed by a minimum of 10 more days before a strike could even occur. After all of that, a strike is still a rare outcome.

Don’t believe me? Beaverton School District teachers went more than 200 days working under an expired contract, despite the consequences to them. Finally, last month an agreement was finally reached, avoiding a teacher strike.

The numbers show just how infrequent it is for strikes to happen. For example, the Oregon Education Association represents 239 contracts across the state, and over the last 20 years, they have negotiated nearly 1,750 contracts. Since 2000, there have only been eight strikes, and the majority were incredibly short. That’s less than 0.5% of all negotiations. Clearly, the process is built to encourage compromise and avoid disruption — strikes are not a first option, they are a last resort.

Despite how uncommon strikes are, the workers involved face significant hardship when they do occur. If Senate Bill 916 had been in place, those eight strikes since 2000 would have only resulted in about nine weeks of unemployment insurance eligibility statewide — less than one week of benefits every two years. When workers have to take this drastic step, they’re left with minimal financial support, often leading to significant financial strain and stress.

While strikes are rare, the fact that they can happen means that workers must be able to support themselves during this time. Across all contracts, backpay — the worker salary for the time they were out on strike — is rarely negotiated, and salary-replacing strike funds are almost nonexistent. SB 916 seeks to provide a partial replacement of lost income during strikes, not a windfall of additional pay. This is a critical measure that ensures workers don’t face financial ruin while they continue to push for the fair conditions and wages they deserve.

The need for SB 916 is even more urgent as we consider the impact of inflation and rising costs of living on workers. School staff and public sector workers are often underpaid and overworked. They deserve to have their voices heard in negotiations without the fear that they’ll be financially starved into accepting unfavorable terms.

By providing a partial income replacement during strikes, SB 916 supports the ability of workers to continue their advocacy without jeopardizing their financial stability.

Proponents of the bill have proposed an amendment to ensure that teachers who receive their whole salary after the strike ends also do not make more than 100% of their wage due to Unemployment Insurance benefits and that those benefits be repaid. This clause clarifies that there will not be an additional cost to the district and enables them to manage the overall budget while still compensating teachers fairly for their work.

Strikes are not something anyone wants, but they should remain an option when all other avenues are exhausted.

It’s time to ensure that workers across all sectors, especially those who serve our schools and our children, have the support they need. Senate Bill 916 is a necessary step toward achieving that.