The Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) has officially expressed strong opposition to the potential admission of the Portland Police Association (PPA) into the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC), the state’s largest labor coalition.
In a letter penned by PAT president Angela Bonilla on behalf of the union’s executive board, the union highlighted the contradiction that admitting the PPA would pose to their own stance on police reform, a topic the PPA has actively fought against.
“Adding PPA to a labor coalition is contrary to actions and positions PAT has taken about police reform, actions that PPA has fought,” Bonilla stated. “In addition, many of our members have been personally brutalized by police.”
Interestingly, despite its vocal opposition, the teachers’ union is not currently a member of the NOLC. However, Bonilla noted that the PAT has been considering joining the coalition.
Bonilla made it clear that the inclusion of the PPA would lead the PAT to reconsider any plans to join the labor council.
The controversy surrounding the police union’s membership sparked earlier this month when the NOLC’s executive board voted almost unanimously to include the PPA.
The decision did not sit well with the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which argued that the decision should be made collectively by the member unions rather than solely by the executive board.
The DSA has formed a strong alliance with PAT leadership in recent years, further intensifying the discourse.
In response to the backlash, Laurie Wimmer, the executive secretary-treasurer of the NOLC, stated that she would defer the final decision to a vote among member unions scheduled for April 28.
Wimmer mentioned that the coalition’s change in direction was due to a dispute over the process, not a reaction to the criticism aimed at the police union itself.
“We found a process matter that we’d overlooked in our eligibility determination work that we’ll now back up and fix before we bring this forward,” Wimmer wrote in an email to coalition delegates.
She emphasized that this was the first instance where member unions voiced objections regarding the inclusion of new unions in the labor council.
Previously, no one raised concerns when three other unions were admitted 19 months ago.
Wimmer remarked, “So it wasn’t until police, whom they’ve decided to, as a class, dislike, that they then started making it about process. The process argument is a canard.”
Despite this, Wimmer affirmed her commitment to union democracy and the importance of allowing every voice to be heard, underscoring her intention to pursue a vote among the full council membership regarding the PPA’s admission.
She added, “We’ll let union democracy prevail and ask everyone to respect that outcome.”
While members of the Portland City Council have maintained a neutral stance on the matter, Councilor Angelita Morillo recently responded on her Instagram account to queries about whether councilors might intervene in the labor council’s decision.
Morillo’s answer suggested that the historical context, including police involvement in breaking up union strikes, warranted serious consideration.
In her letter dated April 27, Bonilla characterized the NOLC executive board’s acceptance of the police union as being against the core values of the labor movement, specifically the goal to “vanquish oppression.”
She argued that top-down decisions without engaging the member base reflect the systems of oppression they are striving to dismantle.
Bonilla articulated that the PPA, by its very nature, stands opposed to the mission of protecting people over property, particularly during labor disputes or public expressions against police brutality.
Furthermore, she accused the police of using their power to target and intimidate elected officials, especially those of color.
Referring to a recent incident involving uniformed police officers attending town halls for Councilors Morillo and Sameer Kanal, she claimed that the police’s actions were meant to intimidate those councilors, who have been critical of the Portland Police Bureau.
The PPA’s president, Aaron Schmautz, has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the allegations made by the teachers’ union.
The ongoing debate surrounding the PPA’s membership highlights the broader tensions within labor movements regarding the role of police and the impact of systemic issues on solidarity among unions.
image source from：https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/04/28/teachers-union-writes-letter-to-labor-guild-opposing-police-union-membership/
