Blank Rome successfully negotiated a contract between our client, The School District of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. The three-year Agreement, which is being hailed by national leaders like Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten as “groundbreaking,” concluded more than a year of talks, including a 96-hour final marathon.

 

The contract is expected to help Pennsylvania secure additional federal funding for schools. Specifically, it provides for pay increases in line with the District’s financial plan, performance bonuses for the best-performing and most-improved schools, more say for schools hiring teachers, a new system for supporting and evaluating teachers, and additional changes for the staff working in failing schools. The Agreement also provides for significant changes in the District’s health plans, which will assist the District in controlling health care costs in future years.