PHILADELPHIA (August 13, 2025) – With staff scheduled to return to work in five days, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT Local 3) on Wednesday called on the School District of Philadelphia to show greater urgency toward contract negotiations so that the new school year is not disrupted by a labor strike. A one-year extension of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), ratified in 2021, expires on August 31st – less than one week after the new school year begins for students.
“The School District has had ample notice of our members’ needs throughout the one-year extension of our last contract. The competition for certified teachers and education professionals has only grown fiercer, and the District’s refusal to keep pace with salaries and benefits provided by school districts in our region has worsened the vacancy crisis in Philadelphia,” PFT President Arthur G. Steinberg said at a press conference to update the public on contract negotiations. “Many of our members are also School District of Philadelphia parents. The last thing any of us wants is to walk out during the critical first months of school for students. But we have been forced to prepare to go on strike because of the District’s refusal to take our members’ needs as workers seriously.”
“As education professionals in the largest school district in Pennsylvania, we face many challenges – but staffing shortages in our schools have many of us at the breaking point,” said Phelishia Comrie, a special education paraprofessional at Kenderton Elementary School in North Philly, and a Philly public school parent. “I’m also working toward earning certification as a special education teacher through the Para Pathways program because these are the kids that have so much promise, but just need specialized services so they can learn and thrive. In my school, staff vacancies mean there just aren’t enough adults to staff every classroom properly. In special education classrooms, that means every student isn’t receiving the services they are entitled to and deserve.”
Also speaking at the press conference was Gemayel Keyes, a graduate of the Para Pathways program which was jointly created by the PFT and District to help non-teaching staff earn degrees and certification to become teachers debt-free, and to expand the local teaching pipeline in Philly.
“More than 100 former paraprofessionals like me are now teachers in the School District of Philadelphia, thanks to the Para Pathways program. That right there shows that the PFT has been a phenomenal partner to the School District to help address the teacher shortage,” said Keyes, now working as a teacher at Gilbert Spruance School in Northeast Philly. “Teachers, paraprofessionals, and all school employees deserve a fair and livable wage. The paraprofessionals in my school and I have spent thousands of dollars out of our own pockets so that the multiple-disability children we work with can have a decent learning experience. All we are asking for in our next contract are wages that allow us to survive and appropriate classroom resources so that we can continue to provide an excellent education experience for our students.”
“Let’s be clear: The possibility of us going out on strike at the beginning of the school year is not on the PFT. It's the District that has refused to come to the table. It's the District that has said, through their lack of desire to negotiate, that we don't deserve a fair contract, or the things that we are fighting for,” said Kate Sundeen, a teacher and academic coach at Academy at Palumbo High School in South Philly, as well as an SDP parent. “When the District says that we aren't deserving, they're saying our students aren't deserving. When they say our nurses don't deserve full-time status at a dedicated school, they're saying our students don't deserve access to a full-time nurse. But let me tell you, in my 25 years of teaching in this District, I've seen nurses and counselors save lives – literally, not figuratively. Giving us a fair contract is not about getting us to do the work. We already do the work, above and beyond. It's about acknowledging the hard work we do, regardless of conditions.”
Also joining the press conference held by the PFT collective bargaining team and rank and file members were City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, 3rd District Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, At-Large Councilmembers Nina Ahmad and Rue Landau, along with representatives of the offices of Councilmembers Nicolas O’Rourke, Isaiah Thomas, and Jeffery Young, Jr.; as well as state Sen. Sharif Street and Rep. Darisha Parker.
Updates on contract negotiations can be found at PFT.org.
