David Douglas Teachers' Strike, 1978

In 1978, teachers from six Oregon school districts planned to walk off the job in what would have been the state’s largest teachers’ strike since public employee collective bargaining became legal in 1973. Teachers in the Tigard, Albany Union, Corvallis, Gresham Grade, and David Douglas school districts independently threatened to walk out on October 3, 1978, for a variety of labor-related reasons, including a lack of contracts, stagnant wages, and the threat of Measure 6 in the upcoming general election. Measure 6 promised to cap property taxes, prompt cutbacks, and possibly lead to layoffs. Until 1968, David Douglas had been a growing school district; but student enrollment had slowly begun to shrink. If layoffs were to come, teachers wanted a contract that explicitly included seniority and experience as considerations in the layoff process in case the district, in an effort to balance the budget, targeted the most senior teachers because of their higher pay.

One by one, as the October deadline approached, districts came to agreements with the teacher unions. First Albany Union, then Gresham Grade, and finally, on Monday, October 2, 1978—the eve of the strike—Corvallis and Tigard came to agreements. As the Tuesday deadline approached, only the David Douglas contract negotiation remained unresolved. The superintendent and the District Trustees declared a state of emergency. North Powellhurst teacher Merritt Kelsey expressed his conflicted feelings about the strike: “I hate to see it come to this. I have put in twenty-two years teaching here. But I feel we have to have a statement of policy on seniority to protect us as enrollment continues to decline and Measure 6 seems about to pass.”

The district attempted to mitigate the effect of the strike by paying substitutes more than twice the normal pay to teach during the strike. One substitute teacher who crossed the picket line, only to later leave, confessed: “I got a bad case of the ‘guilts.’ I worked for better pay for teachers and here I was turning against my principles.” Guy Hendrix, the David Douglas School Board Chairman, condemned the strike as a “damn nasty, mean thing to do to the community, the kids.”

An Oregon Educational Association representative present for negotiations declared, “emotions are high” and that the scene risked becoming “a fracas.” Teachers lined up outside schools, in full view of students in class, or around the entrance to a parking lot the district rented for substitute teachers. The Oregon Journal photo above shows a sheriff’s deputy escorting a picketing teacher away from David Douglas High School. On Thursday, two days into the strike, 150 students from David Douglas High School stood up, left their classes, and walked a mile to the district offices chanting, “We want our teachers back.” That same day, Superintendent Horner chastised the Multnomah Sheriff’s Department for not doing enough to stop what he characterized as the strikers’ harassment of substitute teachers and district employees. Horner even brought in guards from a private security firm, some of whom were in turn arrested themselves. After a second student walkout, frustrated parents in the David Douglas district circulated a petition demanding binding arbitration. Bowing to public pressure, both sides negotiated through the weekend and agreed upon a two-year contract that included a pay hike, a cost-of-living increase, and teacher seniority considerations. Both sides claimed a victory.

 

Written by Peter Hohn, OHS, 2016 

Further Reading

“Five Districts Face Walkouts; Gresham Teachers OK Oct. 3 Strike.” Oregonian, September 22, 1978.

Tom Brennan, “School Strikes Would Dwarf Past Walkouts.” Oregonian, September 24, 1978.

“Albany Teachers OK Pact; Tigard Recall Begins.” Oregonian, September 29. 1978.

Tom Brennan, “David Douglas Teachers Walk Off Jobs; Tigard, Corvallis Strikes Averted.” Oregonian, October 4, 1978

“Teachers Cut Class at David Douglas to Walk Picket Line.” Oregonian, October 4, 1978

Tom Brennan, “David Douglas Students Protest Strike.” Oregonian, October 5, 1978

John Guernsey, “Strike Officially Ends: David Douglas Teachers Ratify Pact.” Oregonian, October 10, 1978