A contract for teachers is a contract for the whole city
by Jessica Way, PFT Bldg Rep, Franklin Learning Center, & Ismael Jimenez, PFT Bldg Rep, Kensington CAPA
Like you, we love our students. We bend over backwards to make sure they get what they need. The same is true for our coworkers. We have seen our fellow educators raise thousands of dollars for clubs, trips and projects. We have seen them stay at school until late in the evening, uncompensated, because there are no EC funds. We have seen them repeatedly take on additional duties without compensation – roster chair, dean of students, test coordinator, teacher leader, extracurricular activity director – because “somebody has to do it.”
Despite years of work in under-resourced, understaffed schools, we still have no contract that ensures schools are safe, staffed, and stable. We deserve a contract that demonstrates respect for our expertise, education and compassion. As PFT Building Representatives, we have heard tragic stories that involve fellow teachers taking 2nd & 3rd jobs, defaulting on student loans, neglecting home repairs, and paying their mortgage late.
We are fighting for our students, our schools, and our lives. On May 1st PFT members, parents and allies from across Philadelphia will be making the brave choice to stand up and speak out on behalf of our students and schools by participating in the “May Day of Advocacy for Public Schools”. At schools across the city large percentages of staffs will not go to work in order to take part in a series of protests.
The tentative schedule is as follows:
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7:30-8:30 am: Pickets at schools with staff, parents & community in solidarity
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10am: Demonstration, rally & press conference at 440 North Broad
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March to City Hall
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11am: Visits to City Council members and the Mayor at City Hall.
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12pm: Un Día Sin Immigrant, Black & Brown Bodies rally at City Hall
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4pm: PFT Educator Exit Rally Lea Elementary, 4700 Locust St
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March to Clark Park
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5pm: May Day Rally at Clark Park, 43rd and Baltimore
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March to Happy Hour (across the street)
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7pm: Happy Hour at Clarkville, 43rd and Baltimore
Do you want to get involved and join the action?
- Sign the Statement of Support for the "May Day of Advocacy in Philly Schools"! Everyone -- educators, parents, community organizations, education advocates, politicians, and allies -- is invited to sign on and help spread the word.
- Encourage friends and organizations to join in! Members of POWER, 215PA, PASNAP, Tuesdays with Toomey and dozens of others are joining us in solidarity. Please reach out to your networks and ask them to stand with us.
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For more information or to join the planning team, contact Jessica Way at [email protected] or Tom Quinn at [email protected].
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Be creative! Help make the rally and march to City Hall truly special. Musicians, artists: we need you! Make a sign that will get the media’s attention.
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Help make the big banner -- wide enough to cover the entire front of 440! You have to see it to believe it! Contact Jessica at [email protected] for more info.
This is a grassroots organizing effort led by rank-and-file educators at local schools*. Families will be notified in advance and invited to participate in the day of action to fight for the schools our students deserve. Staff at Taylor and SLA organized a similar day of action on International Women’s Day with no disciplinary repercussions and strong parent support.
The SDP acknowledged this as our legal right: “Absences due to participation in protests should be treated like any other request for a day off. The School District of Philadelphia respects the rights of District employees for self-expression, however, nothing must deter us from our primary objective – the education of the children of Philadelphia."
*This effort is not sponsored, organized or endorsed by the leadership of the PFT or any members of the PFT Bargaining Team. The actions of rank-and-file members have no bearing whatsoever on whether the district can declare an impasse in negotiations. Only actions taken by the PFT leadership can trigger an impasse in negotiations.
PFT Contract = Safe, Staffed & Stable Schools