SRC benefits overhaul could be a game-changer

ONE DAY AFTER effectively blindsiding the teachers union by unilaterally canceling its contract, School Reform Commission Chairman Bill Green said the SRC waited to take the action to avoid jeopardizing passage of the cigarette tax in Harrisburg.

Green's admission came in response to speculation that Monday's action by the SRC - imposing major health-care benefits changes on thousands of teachers, counselors, nurses and other Philadelphia Federation of Teachers members - was done to aid Gov. Corbett's floundering re-election efforts. The move angered several members of the Philly delegation in the Legislature who voted for the cigarette tax to provide desperately needed funds for the district.

"We would have preferred to take this action over the summer when kids weren't in school," Green said, "but essentially felt that we should wait until the cigarette tax passed. . . . In the end, it was probably a good point."

Regardless of the motivation, the courts must now decide whether the SRC has the authority under the state takeover law to cancel contracts - something it hadn't done in 13 years - and essentially eliminate collective bargaining. Not surprisingly, the district and the union disagree on the matter.

Green is confident the courts will rule in the SRC's favor. While the state Supreme Court earlier this year opted not to weigh in on seniority changes imposed by the SRC, he said, "We don't need a slam-dunk precedent because you or I can read the statute."

The PFT, however, will point to Pennsylvania case law on collective bargaining agreements. PFT lawyer Deborah Willig said the lead case was a 1992 decision involving the Philadelphia Housing Authority, where a judge ruled that no changes can be made to an expired collective bargaining agreement unless there is an impasse.

"We are not at an impasse," Willig said. "In July we made movement on [several] issues and then we never met again. The ball is in the school district's court."

The two sides have been negotiating since January 2013 and have met more than 100 times, yet neither side was ready to blink.

Given the importance of the ruling and the financial ramifications - not just in Philadelphia, but nationally - it will likely be appealed either way to the state Supreme Court, and possibly to the federal courts.

One other factor? Next month's election.

A Tom Wolf win over Corbett could be huge for the PFT, which has strongly supported his campaign. In a statement, Wolf said the SRC's unilateral action "undermines the collaboration that we need in order to develop a long-term solution for schools in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania."

State Sen. Vincent Hughes, a Philadelphia Democrat, said a Wolf victory could also change the course of the SRC.

"The School Reform Commission works at the direction of the governor, especially the three appointees," Hughes said. "So in those first few months after the election, it'll be someone else providing a sense of direction to the SRC and, who knows how long the SRC is going to be in existence."

Source: Philly.com