Philadelphia teachers approve contract

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers last night ratified a new contract by a 2-1 ratio.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers last night ratified a new contract by a 2-1 ratio. In a vote at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, union members approved a new three-year deal.

Listen:
[audio: 100121LFCONTRACT.mp3]

After voting, teachers poured out the doors into the chilly night, many stuck around to keep talking about the new contract.

Tim Baran was unhappy with the deal, which offers two raises of 3%.

Baran: I think we teach the hard kids to teach in the state. Philadelphia teachers should be paid a lot more money than what’s in that contract. So I voted no.

But, as the vote reflected, not everyone opposed the new agreement.

Lucia Busch from Germantown Pre-K Head Start spoke highly of PFT President Jerry Jordan.

Busch: I am very happy. He retained a whole lot of our health care and he retained a whole lot of our other benefits that we had previously and it was really, really good for us.

In a written statement, School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said the contract is fair for the teachers and will help the district recruit and retain quality teachers.