SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Philadelphia students march in Center City earlier this week. (Facebook / Cy Wolfe)
Philadelphia Students Go on Strike for Teachers' Benefits
Typically when you hear about people striking in schools, it's the teachers on the picket line. This week in Philadelphia -- and potentially for many more -- it's the students who are on strike.
Oct 12, 2014
Typically when you hear about people striking in schools, it's the teachers on the picket line. This week in Philadelphia -- and potentially for many more -- it's the students who are on strike.
At a surprise meeting called on Monday, the School District of Philadelphia unceremoniously cut its ties with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, of PFT, which is the American Federation of Teachers local representing around 15,000 teachers in the district. Since 2001, the School District of Philadelphia has been controlled by a state-appointed, five-person committee rather than an elected school board. Three members are appointed by the governor to serve for five years, and two by the city's mayor to serve for four years each.
At least 200 students across four high schools staged a walk-out of their classes on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The group's Facebook page explains that they are striking "because every single teacher in the district's benefits are at risk and being played with through politics." Students stood outside of their schools chanting, with signs reading "Students for Teachers" and "Save Our Schools."
The contract abrogation was an attempt by the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, or SRC, to compel teachers to pay anywhere from $21 to $70 into their healthcare benefits; their current contract indicates that they pay nothing. Commission Chair William Green called on PFT members to "share in the sacrifice" of the city's budget shortfall.
In 2011, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion from the education budget, which has impacted Philadelphia the most: its school district educates 10 percent of the state's students, but has been subject to 25 percent of the cuts. Over 27,000 teachers have been laid off state-wide, along with a number of vital support staff including nurses and guidance counselors.
In the hours following Monday's announcement, Pennsylvania Working Families, Action United and the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools planned an impromptu rally outside Governor Corbett's office in Center City. Groups organizing the rally have been among the loudest voices calling for the city to hand over control of the school district to a locally elected body.
Strike organizer Leo Levy, who is 16 years old, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he and others wanted "to show student solidarity with the plight of the teachers and to show how invested in a proper education the student body really is." PFT President Jerry Jordan has called on anyone concerned to attend the next School Reform Council meeting on Thursday, while a number of education, student and labor groups work to formulate their response. Unfortunately, Philadelphia isn't the first district to be impacted by budget cuts to education, and certainly won't be the last. The students' strike may be laying the groundwork for even more coordinated actions to come.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Kate Aronoff
Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at The New Republic and author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet -- And How We Fight Back. She is co-author of A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal and co-editor of We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism--American Style.
Typically when you hear about people striking in schools, it's the teachers on the picket line. This week in Philadelphia -- and potentially for many more -- it's the students who are on strike.
At a surprise meeting called on Monday, the School District of Philadelphia unceremoniously cut its ties with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, of PFT, which is the American Federation of Teachers local representing around 15,000 teachers in the district. Since 2001, the School District of Philadelphia has been controlled by a state-appointed, five-person committee rather than an elected school board. Three members are appointed by the governor to serve for five years, and two by the city's mayor to serve for four years each.
At least 200 students across four high schools staged a walk-out of their classes on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The group's Facebook page explains that they are striking "because every single teacher in the district's benefits are at risk and being played with through politics." Students stood outside of their schools chanting, with signs reading "Students for Teachers" and "Save Our Schools."
The contract abrogation was an attempt by the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, or SRC, to compel teachers to pay anywhere from $21 to $70 into their healthcare benefits; their current contract indicates that they pay nothing. Commission Chair William Green called on PFT members to "share in the sacrifice" of the city's budget shortfall.
In 2011, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion from the education budget, which has impacted Philadelphia the most: its school district educates 10 percent of the state's students, but has been subject to 25 percent of the cuts. Over 27,000 teachers have been laid off state-wide, along with a number of vital support staff including nurses and guidance counselors.
In the hours following Monday's announcement, Pennsylvania Working Families, Action United and the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools planned an impromptu rally outside Governor Corbett's office in Center City. Groups organizing the rally have been among the loudest voices calling for the city to hand over control of the school district to a locally elected body.
Strike organizer Leo Levy, who is 16 years old, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he and others wanted "to show student solidarity with the plight of the teachers and to show how invested in a proper education the student body really is." PFT President Jerry Jordan has called on anyone concerned to attend the next School Reform Council meeting on Thursday, while a number of education, student and labor groups work to formulate their response. Unfortunately, Philadelphia isn't the first district to be impacted by budget cuts to education, and certainly won't be the last. The students' strike may be laying the groundwork for even more coordinated actions to come.
Kate Aronoff
Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at The New Republic and author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet -- And How We Fight Back. She is co-author of A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal and co-editor of We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism--American Style.
Typically when you hear about people striking in schools, it's the teachers on the picket line. This week in Philadelphia -- and potentially for many more -- it's the students who are on strike.
At a surprise meeting called on Monday, the School District of Philadelphia unceremoniously cut its ties with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, of PFT, which is the American Federation of Teachers local representing around 15,000 teachers in the district. Since 2001, the School District of Philadelphia has been controlled by a state-appointed, five-person committee rather than an elected school board. Three members are appointed by the governor to serve for five years, and two by the city's mayor to serve for four years each.
At least 200 students across four high schools staged a walk-out of their classes on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The group's Facebook page explains that they are striking "because every single teacher in the district's benefits are at risk and being played with through politics." Students stood outside of their schools chanting, with signs reading "Students for Teachers" and "Save Our Schools."
The contract abrogation was an attempt by the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, or SRC, to compel teachers to pay anywhere from $21 to $70 into their healthcare benefits; their current contract indicates that they pay nothing. Commission Chair William Green called on PFT members to "share in the sacrifice" of the city's budget shortfall.
In 2011, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett cut $1 billion from the education budget, which has impacted Philadelphia the most: its school district educates 10 percent of the state's students, but has been subject to 25 percent of the cuts. Over 27,000 teachers have been laid off state-wide, along with a number of vital support staff including nurses and guidance counselors.
In the hours following Monday's announcement, Pennsylvania Working Families, Action United and the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools planned an impromptu rally outside Governor Corbett's office in Center City. Groups organizing the rally have been among the loudest voices calling for the city to hand over control of the school district to a locally elected body.
Strike organizer Leo Levy, who is 16 years old, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he and others wanted "to show student solidarity with the plight of the teachers and to show how invested in a proper education the student body really is." PFT President Jerry Jordan has called on anyone concerned to attend the next School Reform Council meeting on Thursday, while a number of education, student and labor groups work to formulate their response. Unfortunately, Philadelphia isn't the first district to be impacted by budget cuts to education, and certainly won't be the last. The students' strike may be laying the groundwork for even more coordinated actions to come.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.