Archdiocese, Teachers' Union Reach Tentative Agreement
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The two-week-long teachers' strike at area Catholic high schools could soon be over.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Association of Catholic School Teachers, local 1776, put out a joint statement, saying they have a tentative agreement for a new contract for lay teachers at the 17 archdiocesan high schools.
The two sides say they won't release details of the agreement until the teachers vote on it. Teachers were scheduled to vote at 10 a.m.
Teachers voted to walk out on September 6th, but the archdiocesan high schools started classes -- mostly orientations and testing. As the strike dragged on, they closed the schools last week.
Sixteen-thousand students and 700 teachers have been affected by the strike.
There is no school today for those students, of course, but if teachers give the deal the okay, they will be back in class tomorrow.
Reported by Jim Melwert, KYW Newsradio 1060
