The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will forgo raises and accept changes in health insurance, the union announced this morning.
PFT President Jerry Jordan will hold a press conference at 10 am to discuss the union proposals.
Forgoing raises, however, hardly addresses the district's demand for salary givebacks, ranging from 5 to 13 percent.
The union contract expires Saturday.
As of yesterday, the district was reporting little progress in getting $103 million in concessions from the teachers' union - givebacks it says are key to shoring up a financial bailout plan that includes money from the state.
"Quite frankly, it would create a level of fiscal stability that this district hasn't seen for some time now," Philadelphia School District Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said of the concessions in a 30-minute interview with the Inquirer.
The contract with the 15,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers - which has strongly resisted the concessions - expires on Saturday. The district and union talked over the weekend and are meeting daily this week in an attempt to come to an agreement, and the first day of class is Sept. 9.
The negotiation arguably is the toughest the two sides have ever faced, given the level of salary cuts and changes the district is demanding, and the dire financial condition of the 136,000-student school district.
Earlier this summer, the district laid off nearly 4,000 employees to cope with a $304 million deficit.
Source: Philly.com
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