The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has authorized a strike, raising the possibility that educators in the city’s public schools could walk out of classrooms at the beginning of the upcoming academic year.
Members who showed up to a special meeting Tuesday voted 94% in favor of the authorization, which permits PFT leaders to call for a strike once the union’s current contract expires Aug. 31, representatives said.
A collective bargaining agreement could still emerge before then, or PFT leadership could decide to continue negotiating beyond that deadline. School District of Philadelphia students will return to school Aug. 25, with staff due back a week earlier.
The vote was the first strike authorization for the PFT, which represents 14,000 teachers and other education professionals, since before the state seized control of the district in 2001. Local control was restored eight years ago, under Mayor Jim Kenney.
“While the PFT Collective Bargaining Team has made progress toward an agreement that demonstrably improves members’ working conditions – and thereby bolsters students’ learning conditions – the District has been slower to meet us halfway on key demands by our members,” Arthur Steinberg, the union’s president, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the district released a statement saying the school system “continues to be engaged in negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of the Teachers.”
“We are optimistic that we will reach an agreement on a successor collective bargaining agreement,” the statement continued.
A PFT flier highlights salary disparities between Philadelphia public school teachers and their peers in three suburban districts – Lower Merion, Abington and Cheltenham.
City teachers at the top of the pay scale (with a master’s degree plus 60 credits) earn about $20,000 less a year on average than similarly qualified educators in those municipalities, according to the PFT. Over a 35-year tenure, for someone with a typical career path, that difference equates to more than $1.2 million, the union’s pamphlet adds.
Union leadership says they are advocating for a contract that also addresses understaffing; health and safety concerns; higher pay for assistants and support staff; and the restoration of schools libraries, among other issues.
“Amid a district-wide staff shortage that left teachers, counselors, classroom assistants, and so many other education professionals juggling duties beyond their own job descriptions, the District must make changes that both slow attrition of burned-out employees and attracts teachers and specialists to Philadelphia public schools,” Steinberg said.
District administrators and the PFT agreed to a one-year contract in early 2024 that incorporated a 5% salary increase and $1,200 bonuses.
Much of the school system’s spending is allocated for pay and benefits, and the district is dealing with a sizable budget deficit that officials say stems from the end of federal COVID-19 relief money.
In the coming fiscal year, starting July 1, the district was able to avoid cuts by spending 45% of its reserves to cover a $341 million shortfall. It’s a one-year reprieve, Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. told Board of Education members at their May 29 meeting. Without additional funding, likely from Harrisburg or City Hall, significant spending reductions are anticipated for the 2026-27 school year.
The PFT is not the only large, public-sector union that authorized a strike this week. AFSCME District Council 33, which represents thousands of city workers, did the same. Their contract expires at the end of the month.
