Philadelphia school workers vote to ratify new contract with School District of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - With the shool year in full swing, service workers have avoided a strike with the School District of Philadelphia after ratifying a new four-year contract on Saturday.

Workers represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ announced a tentative agreement on August 26 after voting to authorize a strike days prior if the district did not meet their demands.

The agreement "achieves historic wage increases and essential training for the union’s membership," according to a statement by the union.

Two thousand of Philadelphia's bus drivers, bus attendants, bus mechanics, general cleaners, building engineers, and trades workers voted to ratify the new contract, which will replace the current two-year contract that expired in August.

In a statement, the union says the new four-year contract includes:

• Historic wage increases that bring 32BJ workers in line with the wages of city workers with increases between $3 to $5 wage increases over the course of this contract, and immediately increase lowest paid workers from their current $14.31 to up to $20 an hour.
• $2 million in additional funding for standardized training programs, giving members the safety and security they need right now, with opportunities to better their skills and qualify for jobs within the district that match those skills.
• Maintaining excellent pension and employer paid health benefits for union members; protecting paid sick leave and paid vacation.