Hundreds of union staff from Evergreen Public Schools rallied at three campuses around Vancouver on Tuesday. The strike is a first for the district’s classified school staff and it marks stalled contract negotiations between the union and administrators that have been going on since March.

The Evergreen Chapter of the Public School Employees of Washington SEIU Local 1948 represents around 1,400 classified staff across the district’s 38 elementary, middle, high and specialty schools in east Vancouver.

The school district has already pushed back the start of the school year from Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, to give more time for a contract agreement before students return.

The union is demanding increased pay and benefits for staff including bus drivers, custodians, mechanics and paraeducators who provide support for teachers.

“Most of the paraeducators I’ve worked with over the years have second jobs during the school year and also during the summer, just so they can afford to pay rent and keep food on their tables,” said Brooke Lessley, a classroom specialist who works with deafblind students. Lessley said she has been with the district for nearly a decade as she walked the picket line in front of Evergreen High School on Tuesday.

The union is asking for paraeducators to be paid for the full time they are at school, even if students need assistance after classes end. They’re also asking for release time to do union work, among other benefits.

Union representatives said the district has so far been inflexible with their requests as well as bargaining dates.

“They’re expecting us to basically bargain against ourselves,” said Mindy Troffer-Cooper, the Evergreen Public School Employees Union president.

District officials claimed the union’s bargaining team missed a negotiation session on Tuesday as the strike began, according to an emailed statement.

“The EPS bargaining team is working and remains available and ready to bargain in good faith to reach a settlement that is fair and sustainable under the district’s current budget constraints,” the district’s statement reads.

According to Troffer-Cooper, the union offered 20 dates to negotiate in August, but the district chose just three.

The employees union can continue to work for up to a year without a contract as negotiations continue, the district said.

Union members and district officials are expected to address the strike during an Evergreen Public Schools board meeting on Tuesday night.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/26/evergreen-school-employees-districts-class/