ALBANY, Ore. — Editor's note: This story has been updated with news of a final agreement Monday evening, after the original story was published.
A tentative deal to end a historic weeks-long strike for Greater Albany Public Schools collapsed in the final hour early Monday morning — but by that evening, it was back on and quickly approved by both the teachers and the school board.
According to the Greater Albany Education Association, the two bargaining teams reached a full agreement just before 6 p.m. Monday night, and teachers were already voting on whether to ratify the contract. Greater Albany Public Schools confirmed the tentative agreement and said that there would be an emergency school board meeting at 8 p.m. to finalize the deal if union members voted to ratify.
More than 50% of union members must vote to ratify the contract for the strike to end, but the GAEA seemed confident of a "deeply emotional" resolution to the three-week strike.
Just before 8:30 p.m., according to the district, union members had voted to ratify the agreement and the board had signed off — marking an official end to the strike and a new contract for educators.
Class will resume Tuesday for Greater Albany Public Schools, with students on a two-hour late start as teachers return and get set up in their classrooms. Due to the late start, there won't be transportation provided to the Periwinkle Child Development Center, Clover Ridge Early Intervention, Riverside Head Start, Growing Learners YMCA, and Kidco Young Roots.
"The District is looking forward to having students and teachers back in classrooms. GAPS knows there is much work to be done while making up lost days of instruction and building relationships with staff across the District," administrators said in a statement. "A more detailed schedule of calendar adjustments for the remainder of the school year will be communicated soon.
"We know this has been a challenging time for all involved with countless sacrifices made by students, parents, the community, teachers, classified staff, and District staff. GAPS will strive to provide quality experiences for all those we serve and aim to produce the best educational outcomes possible as we move forward."
Deal or no deal
The mood Monday evening was a far cry from where things stood on the picket lines just hours earlier, after a deal struck over the weekend fell apart in the early hours of the morning.
"To hear this morning that at like 3 o'clock that the deal fell apart, it was heart-wrenching," said Chelsea Grimm, a South Albany High School ninth-grade English teacher. "This was the hardest day for me to get up."
The district had said Sunday night that a deal was being finalized, and the union bargaining team later confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached. But the deal "imploded" around 3 a.m. on Monday after negotiations over return-to-work conditions broke down, the union said.
"To get the news last night right before bed, where a deal had been reached and then to wake up this morning and hearing that it fell apart is ... it's been devastating, and it feels like we really don't know where we stand," said Justin Roach, a teacher at Memorial Middle School.
Classes remained canceled on Monday amid the ongoing strike. Outside the Greater Albany Public Schools headquarters, dozens of Albany teachers marched and chanted after news of the failed deal spread.
"We're out here making sure that teachers are heard," Roach said, "that our families are heard in the community and that students get what they need."
Talks broke down after 11 hours of negotiations when the union and the district failed to come to an agreement on "standard return-to-work terms." The union also claimed that not enough school board members remained awake to authorize an agreement to the teachers' latest proposal or a counter.
"We are flabbergasted that after three weeks of strike, bargaining every day but two over Thanksgiving break, and nearly securing a full agreement today over the entirety of the contract except one appendix, this district’s bad faith power plays have now cost us an agreement," said Dana Lovejoy, a math teacher at South Albany High School and president of the Greater Albany Education Association.
According to the union, the district inaccurately stated that a return-to-work agreement had been reached over the weekend. The union said the teachers waited until 3 a.m. on Monday for the district to "reappear and negotiate" the final details.
"Apparently some board members needed their beauty sleep last night and that just kind of blew everything up," Roach said outside the district headquarters.
The district, in a statement Monday morning, said the major issue is the return-to-work agreement, which the district said is separate from the tentative contract agreement reached Sunday night. The return-to-work agreement, the district said, revolves around teacher compensation for the days they were on strike, as well as how many days will be made up during the school year or in June.
According to the district, its proposal calls for 7.5 makeup days to compensate for instructional time lost during the strike, which would replace dates in the calendar listed as non-student contact days so as to not extend the school year.
Greater Albany Education Association Vice President Max Nazarian said teachers want to make up the days lost to the strike and would be willing to extend the school year to make up those days.
"We want to be back with our kids," Nazarian said on the steps of the district headquarters. "They're trying to limit the days that we're back. They don't want the kids back as much, they would rather punish us. The main objective of their 'return to work' policy is punitive."
Union members had planned to meet Monday and vote on whether to ratify the agreement, but the vote was suspended until a new tentative agreement could be reached. Over 50% of full union members must vote in favor for it to pass.
With the collapsed deal, the teachers strike entered its third week. Hundreds of educators walked off the job on Nov. 12, marking the first strike by Albany teachers in nearly 40 years. Sticking points for teachers and educators have been increased safety measures, better pay and smaller class sizes, as well as more prep time and professional development opportunities.