Dive Brief:
- It's been three weeks since the five-person committee in charge of Philadelphia Public Schools decided to annul its contract with the city's teacher union, and the fresh wounds are still rallying many around what is seen by many as the nation's latest attack on collective bargaining.
- The School Reform Commission not only tossed out the contracts but demanded changes to offered health-care benefits, making teachers pay extra into a health fund. According to Education Week's Benjamin Herold, "Never before in recent memory has an appointed body, acting without clear legislative authority, sought to rip up a contract and impose new costs on public workers."
- Herold also writes that the biggest issue to arise from this is the fact that the SRC committee is not elected but appointed, and the move represents a growing trend among conservative officials to give power to appointed public managers.
Dive Insight:
Philadelphia is not alone. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana have all seen legislative rulings that have hindered the rights of unions. In Michigan and Indiana, for example, legislators passed a "right to work" law that stops unions from mandating payment from nonmembers.
When the Philadelphia decision was made at the beginning of the month, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued a statement blasting Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. "Clearly and recklessly, the SRC is trying to provoke a strike—since there have been no real negotiations since SRC Chair Bill Green was appointed by the governor. Green, in fact, has shown by his actions—spending his time and resources hiring lawyers and going to court—that the commission would rather attempt to impose a contract than work with teachers to figure out what is best for Philadelphia’s kids," Weingarten wrote.