Teachers at Jewish day school strike
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Teachers at a suburban Philadelphia Jewish day school are on strike after lengthy contract talks that have stalled over pension issues. The teachers had been working without a contract since August.
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Members of the American Federation of Teachers at the Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr decided to walk off the job last week. Jarred Freedman is the schools representative from the American Federation of Teachers.
Freedman: What prompted the teachers to hit the picket line was the fact that the school wanted to cut the contributions to the pension plan by over 50%. It wasn't the salaries, it wasn't medical it was the pension plan.
Freedman says the 55 teachers will stay out until the school restores the pension plan funding. School officials have canceled classes for the week and in a statement said they respect the educators and hope to reach a settlement soon. No talks have been scheduled.
A little over 300 students grades 6 through 12 attend the Jewish day school.
