Philly federation of teachers ratifies agreement with school district
Philadelphia Federation Of Teachers Members Vote To Ratify Agreement With School District, Averting Strike
Members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers voted Thursday to approve a three-year contract with the school district, union leaders announced after a membership meeting.
An “overwhelming” 70% of members who joined call voted to ratify the collective bargaining agreement, union president Arthur G. Steinberg said during a press conference. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers represents 14,000 education professionals, including teachers, librarians, school nurses, counselors, social workers and others.
“They’re very happy to be able to get about the business of educating the children of the city of Philadelphia,” Steinberg said.
The deal includes annual 3% salary increases for members for the duration of the agreement, five weeks of paid parental leave and an end to the controversial sick leave policy known as 3-5-7-9 in favor of new absence guidelines, according to a post the union shared on social media. The deal also makes it easier to reach the top of the pay scale, “which allows us to compete a little more with the suburbs,” Steinberg said.
“We’re not up to them in salary yet, however, the structure of it makes it less likely for them to poach our teachers now,” Steinberg said.
The new contract also includes “a seat at the table” for members when it comes to using artificial intelligence in the school district and expands a program for non-certified staffers to become teachers. Members will also get a $1,400 bonus in October.
“Our goal for this collective bargaining agreement was really to set a floor for the future and build on the educational program for our members and for the children of the city of Philadelphia going forward, and I couldn’t be more pleased to see the overwhelming support that the members gave to us,” Steinberg said.
The district and the union announced that they had come to a tentative agreement Sunday night, hours before the start of the new school year for Philly’s roughly 198,000 district students. The union had been preparing for a possible strike in case they didn’t reach a deal before the prior contract ended Aug. 31.
The three-year agreement runs from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2028.
This article was sourced from CBS Philadelphia
