Key issue in teachers' contract dispute: Will old provisions remain in effect?
by thenotebook on Sep 02 2013 Posted in Latest news
by Paul Socolar and Dale Mezzacappa
Unable to close a deal in time for the Monday night union membership meeting, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will be back at the bargaining table with the School District on Tuesday, trying to hammer out an agreement that may still be far off.
Although the old contract expired Saturday at midnight, the union maintains those terms are still in place, which for now would mean no pay cuts for teachers who go back to their sparsely staffed schools on Tuesday -- and no budget relief on the horizon for the District.
In a statement issued Monday evening, the District renewed its call for the PFT to accept salarly reductions and "reasonable contributions to its health insurance costs."
Contract talks took place every day of the long holiday weekend. Both sides report some progress but aren't providing details about the sticking points. According to PFT president Jerry Jordan, "You have to look at the entire package, and there are still several things that are unresolved."
The School District says it wants concessions totaling $103 million from the teachers (the equivalent of about $7,000 from each union member), and the mood of the leadership and thousands of members at Monday's meeting was not at all receptive to that idea.
Asked what deadlines are in play, Jordan pointed out that previous agreements