This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
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As Gov. Corbett asked for contract concessions from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers on Thursday morning, 300 layoff notices were on their way to School District employees.
The head of the city teachers’ union says, "No way."
"We need to have the public sector teacher union in Philadelphia step up and make concessions," Corbett said as he signed the state’s $29.1 billion budget. "I find it unfathomable that in 498 school districts in Pennsylvania, teachers contribute to their health care. Two other school districts, and primarily Philadelphia, do not contribute."
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers head Jerry Jordan said Corbett’s demand ignores sacrifices that his members have already made.
"We have gone a full year without a raise, making this the third consecutive year that members of the federation have gone without a raise," Jordan said. "We also said we would be willing to find savings of several millions of dollars in order to help the District get through this fiscal problem."
Other concessions, Jordan said, are "off the table."