By Joel Mathis

– There will be no Philadelphia newspaper strike after all.

On Friday night — after an exhausting 11-hour negotiating session with a federal mediator, and 25 hours before their contract was set to expire — the Newspaper Guild and Philadelphia Media Network announced they had reached a “tentative agreement” on a two-year contract.

The Guild represents journalists, ad sales people, and other support staffers at Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com.

Neither side would comment after they emerged from the mediator’s office. Guild officials said details of the agreement will be presented to members on Monday. The two sides had previously been at an impasse on two remaining issues: seniority and healthcare. They had previously come to agreement on the status of Philly.com employees, who until now have been governed under a separate contract from their print bretheren.

There were signs as the evening wore on that perhaps the mood was lightening up — members from each negotiating team emerged into the lobby to present a lurking Philly Mag reporter with small snacks.

But the agreement followed months of increasingly angry rhetoric and dire predictions. The original contract expired in February, and after months of impasse, Guild members voted earlier this month to begin strike preparations. The Guild held a rally on Thursday in front of the company’s newsrooms at 801 Market Street, which came just hours after senior company officials sent out a memo telling workers how they could cross picket lines.

Although workers this year received profit-sharing checks based on the company’s 2014 performance, that profit followed a long decline, and it was widely believed that a work stoppage could well wreck the newspapers permanently — and perhaps dramatically reshape the Philadelphia media landscape in unprecedented fashion.

“A work stoppage would cripple this company,” Howard Gensler, the Guild’s president, said during Thursday’s rally. “They know it. We know it.”

Assuming the agreement is ratified, though, the theory won’t be tested.

Source – http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/06/26/no-newspaper-strike/

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s history, and that of the entire labor movement, has been about fighting for workers’ rights. This includes rights relating to dignity and fairness in the workplace. A union contract, and the benefits it provides, does not discriminate. It ensures equal protection and equal treatment regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. The labor movement also maintains that these rights, such as equal pay and non-discrimination, are fundamental, and should be enshrined in the law for all workers.

Today’s landmark decision by the US Supreme Court reaffirmed that the US Constitution grants equal dignity in the eyes of the law to all people. It was just over a year ago that Pennsylvania became the 19th State to recognize marriage equality when a federal judge struck down the Commonwealth’s ban. Since that time, the march towards nationwide marriage equality has only gained momentum; prior to this morning’s ruling, thirty-seven states plus the District of Columbia already recognized marriage equality.

This has been one of the defining civil rights issues of our time, with clear implications on the rights of workers and on the economic freedom of millions of Americans. Prior to the full recognition of marriage, employers could choose not to extend benefits to the families of certain workers, including health insurance, family leave, death benefits, and more. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO recognizes that such divisions solely benefit employers and politicians who seek to weaken us in the struggle for workers’ rights.

Union membership has always been the best protection against such discrimination in the workplace, and it is STILL the only protection against sexual-orientation based employment discrimination in many parts of Pennsylvania. That means that without an employment contract that says otherwise, a couple that gets married on Saturday, can be fired from their jobs on Monday morning if their boss learns that they are in a same sex relationship. This runs counter to the entire notion of equal protection and equal dignity under the law. It is why the National AFL-CIO has come out strongly in support of federal legislation in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and it is why the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO strongly supports the passage of laws in the Commonwealth which prevent discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO has a long and proud history of uniting workers across the lines that divide us. Let us all resolve that today’s victory for equality and dignity shall add urgency to the fight for full employment equality in Pennsylvania.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6085

By Dale Mezzacappa

– As it had vowed to do, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers filed charges of unfair labor practice Wednesday against the School District for its decision to outsource substitute teaching.

The PFT, which is seeking an expedited hearing before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, claims that, in two years of stalled contract negotiations, the District never brought up the issue.

“The decision to outsource these services without negotiating with the PFT is a blatant violation of our contract,” said PFT president Jerry Jordan.

On June 18, the School Reform Commission approved a $34 million, two-year contract, effective July 1, with Cherry Hill-based Source4Teachers to provide substitute service starting in September.

The company has promised to fill 90 percent of classrooms by January; the current fill rate is between 55 and 65 percent.

In explaining the reason for the outsourcing, District officials said that on any given day more than 400 classrooms — an average of nearly two per school — don’t have teachers. That means other teachers must give up preparation periods to cover them or administrators must forgo other duties.

More than 1,300 substitutes, including many retired teachers, are PFT members. A separate section of the contract governs their terms of employment and sets daily pay rates as well as rates for extended positions.

Substitutes work both by the day and as “long-term” subs filling in for teachers who are on medical leave or temporarily away from the classroom for other reasons.

In the complaint, the PFT says that it has been “deprived of an opportunity to negotiate with the District over the alleged savings that the District purports will be gained through the privatization of per diem and substitute teaching services.”

UPDATE: Late in the day the District issued the following statement:

“The School District of Philadelphia will continue to put the needs of students first which is exactly what the contract for substitute services accomplishes. It will allow the placement of teachers in over 400 classrooms that currently are left unattended daily due to the lack of substitute teachers. We will continue to vigorously defend the rights of our students to a thorough and effective education.”

Source – http://thenotebook.org/blog/158734/pft-files-unfair-labor-practice-against-substitute-outsourcing

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Defending our State Wine and Spirits Stores from the privateers has been an ongoing fight for such a long time that it almost risks fading into the background noise of a dysfunctional State Legislature, but what’s happening now is different.

In 2013, the State House passed a liquor privatization bill that would have sold off this valuable public asset for next to nothing – blowing a huge hole in the State budget and destroying 5,000 good family-sustaining jobs. To their credit, the State Senate refused to take action on this bad idea, in spite of heavy pressure from then-Governor Corbett.

But now, with newcomers like York County’s Scott Wagner and the ouster of Senator Pileggi from leadership, the State Senate seems determined to shed its reputation as the pragmatic and responsible chamber, and is set for the first time to introduce their own bill to dismantle the Wine and Spirits Stores.

Union-busting millionaire Senator Scott Wagner circulated a co-sponsorship memo earlier this year, and we expect his legislation to be introduced in the Senate next week. For the first time, this scheme to destroy jobs will be originating in the Senate.

To E-Mail Your Senator and Representative now, go to – https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-oppose-wagners-liquor-privatization-scheme – Tell them to focus on investment to create good jobs, and reject these ideology-driven attacks that would destroy thousands of good middle class jobs.

Source – http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=6029

– From PFT President Jerry Jordan:

“Once again, the School Reform Commission is using the budget crisis as an excuse to privatize public education, one position at a time.

“Voting to give the management of substitutes to Source4Teachers is not only disrespectful to Philly’s educators, but unnecessary. Our District has access to a wealth of retirees who are certified, familiar with our schools, and willing to work as substitutes. Instead of using this resource, Dr. Hite and his administration have instead allowed vacancies to go unfilled in order to save money. They, then, used the shortage of substitutes as an excuse to abdicate their responsibilities to provide services to students.

“The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is deeply disturbed by Dr. Hite’s willingness to pay private companies to deliver critical services to our schoolchildren. We are committed to fighting the privatization of substitutes and nurses, and are considering several legal actions, including the filing of an Unfair Labor Practice against the School District.”

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