Salem Keizer Educators Offered New Contract

SALEM, Ore. — Salem-Keizer School District’s teachers’ union reached a tentative agreement with the district on a new two-year contract, avoiding a strike, the two sides announced this morning.

The teachers union and district leaders bargained for nearly a year on a new collective bargaining agreement. The biggest sticking point in negotiations was over teacher workload. Today, the union said the new deal makes investments in “school safety, educator workload and scheduling” and a “new start on addressing class size.” 

Kelsey Dunlap is the chair of the union, the Salem Keizer Education Association. She said, “We know that it’s really important for students to have access to their teachers. And it’s important for teachers to be able to work with families, and that’s, it’s really impossible when you have a large class.”

If the union members approve the contract, it will include a 9.75% pay increase for teachers over the two years, plus a one time bonus payment.

The tally of votes as of Friday showed 94% of the 2, 300 educators in Oregon’s second largest school district had voted in favor of a strike in case the negotiations broke down.