SE Pa. Catholic High School Teachers Sign New, One-Year Contract
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Teachers at 17 high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have accepted a new, one-year contract, after only a month ago overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed one-year-deal.
Rita Schwartz, president of Local 1776 of the Association of Catholic Teachers, says teachers voted last night by a nearly 3-1 margin to accept the new contract.
"The teachers are going to receive a $1,350 raise across the board," she said. "The medical (higher premiums) will take some of that money, but they will have some left over."
Schwartz says the proposal rejected by teachers in May didn't contain enough money to cover the an increase in health care costs.
She says the new deal goes into effect September 1st, covering teachers in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.
"Because of the uncertainty of medical care and coverage these days, it's a one-year contract that will expire August 31, 2016," she tells KYW Newsradio.
Philadelphia Catholic elementary school teachers are not unionized.
