We’ve got until Monday at 4PM. How can you make sense of the PFT contract offer? Here’s how to prepare for the vote, in five easy steps:
1. Watch the presentation from Saturday’s PFT Webinar and read the changes to the PFT contract. Log on to the ‘members only’ section of the PFT website to access the information at PFT.org. Read the latest from the Inquirer, Newsworks and the Notebook.
2. Attend one of five Contract Reading Parties happening on Sunday, June 18 across the city. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions.
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Center City: 10-11:30am at Chapter House (620 S. 9th Street Phila 19147)
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Northeast: 2-3:30pm at Kate Sannicks-Lerner’s (684 Meadowbrook Drive, Huntingdon Valley 19006)
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Northwest: 2-3:30pm at Nat Bartels' (7807 Ardleigh St. Phila 19118)
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West: 4-5:30pm at Jesse Gottschalk’s (5118 Catharine St. Phila 19143)
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South: 4-5:30pm at South Philly Tap Room (1509 S. Mifflin St. 19145)
3. Organize a Contract Reading Party at your school on Monday. Making sure every PFT member has the time and space to read the proposal and make an informed decision is crucial. Have a breakfast meeting before school. Meet up at lunch to talk. Or plan to get to the Liacouras Center as early as 4pm on Monday, stake out a spot for your school and meet there. Use the following resources to help guide your discussion:
4. Prepare for the contract vote on Monday June 19 at 6:00pm (doors open at 4:00pm) at the Liacouras Center 1776 N. Broad Street at Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
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Arrange childcare and transportation to the Liacouras Center. Carpool or take the SEPTA Broad Street Line to the Cecil B Moore station. (Here is the parking guide for the Liacouras Center.)
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Wear your PFT red!
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Bring a school sign or banner to the ratification vote so your staff can easily find each other and sit together.
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Make sure you have each other’s cell phone numbers programmed into your phones before the meeting so you can find each other and communicate during the meeting.
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Bring your postcard: Every PFT member should have received a red and white postcard in the mail, which is your ticket into the contract ratification vote. If you did not receive it, bring a photo ID and your most recent pay stub to the meeting -- and call the PFT office immediately at 215-587-6738.
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Know what to expect: All 11,000 members of the PFT union are invited to the meeting to hear about the proposed contract changes and then vote yes to approve or no to reject. This vote always occurs via private ballot, which will be counted by an outside agency called the American Arbitration Association (AAA). There may be a symbolic voice vote, but the contract is not ratified or rejected until every member present at the meeting has their vote counted by the AAA. All PFT members are welcome to stay and witness the vote count.
5. Vote using the paper ballot. As mentioned above, the voice vote is merely symbolic. It’s the paper vote that counts. REMEMBER TO COMPLETE YOUR PAPER BALLOT AND CAST YOUR VOTE BY PUTTING IT DIRECTLY INTO THE BALLOT BOX BEFORE LEAVING. You can vote as soon as the doors open at 4pm. Do not hand your ballot to anyone. Be sure your vote gets counted. Put it into the box yourself.
Have other questions? Contact us at [email protected]