Philadelpia Teacher Union Monopoly Contract Cancelled

In an effort to improve underperforming schools, the Philadelphia school district has cancelled the monopoly bargaining contract with teachers in that district.  Predictably, teacher union officials are grousing about the cancellations, but principals are loving it, as well as teachers.  Without a contract, teachers should not be forced to support the teacher labor union in order to obtain or keep their jobs.  Teachers once again have the freedom to teach.  Larry Sand, President of California Teacher Empowerment Network, and teacher union expert, has the story in heartland.org.

The teachers unions are spitting venom at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission. The PSRC—an appointed body—was established in 2001 as a response to overall school district ineptitude. It didn’t help much.

So the kids aren’t learning, the taxpayer is taking it in the shorts, and the teachers unions couldn’t care less.

After 21 months of negotiating and failing to produce a compromise, the PSRC abruptly cancelled the existing teachers union contract. PSRC chairman Bill Green said the move will save the district $54 million this year, $30 million of which would be quickly pumped into schools beset by large class sizes and reductions in arts and Advanced Placement classes. He added that the money “will be invested directly in classrooms, with principals empowered to use the cash as they see fit—to hire a full-time counselor and nurse, perhaps, or to pay for more supplies or after-school programs.”