Who will be the new president of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers? Meet Arthur Steinberg.

On July 1, Arthur Steinberg will become president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, replacing longtime PFT president Jerry Jordan, who announced his retirement Tuesday.

Steinberg must hit the ground running — the PFT’s contract, covering 13,000-plus teachers, counselors, nurses, paraprofessionals and other school workers, expires Aug. 31.

Here’s what we know about Steinberg:

Steinberg comes from a PFT and district family; his father, Jack Steinberg, was one of the teachers’ union’s founders, and its longtime treasurer.

Arthur Steinberg followed in his father’s footsteps as a district teacher — he taught special education at Edison High from 1979 to 1983 — then as a PFT staffer, then, ultimately, as executive board treasurer, a position he still holds.

Steinberg, like his father before him, is also chief trustee of the PFT’s Health and Welfare Fund.

(Altogether, there were five Steinbergs who taught in Philadelphia schools — Jack and Arthur, and Arthur’s mother, sister, and wife.)

Since 2019, Arthur Steinberg has been president of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania chapter.

There was no long-held plan for Steinberg to become PFT president, he said in an interview.

“It wasn’t a goal or an ambition of mine,” he said.

When Jordan, who began working for the union four years after Steinberg did, began discussing his retirement with his inner circle, “some of the staff that’s remaining behind” began having conversations with Steinberg about potentially serving as president.

“I’ve given so much of my life and career to this,” Steinberg said. “They convinced me that it would be the best way to build a bridge to the future.”

Steinberg assumes the mantle of the collective bargaining team, which has long controlled the PFT. He will remain in the statewide AFT job; he says with strong staffs in both organizations, he can do both jobs.

Steinberg will be 70 when he becomes PFT president. How long does he want to serve?

“We’ll see how things progress,” he said. “I’ll make a decision when these four years are up. I’m not going to leave in the middle of the term.”

The spotlight will take some getting used to, said Steinberg, who’s becoming president of one of the city’s most powerful unions in a powerful union town.

He’s not sure what kind of PFT leader he’ll be, Steinberg said, but “I’ve learned a lot from Jerry all these years working with him,” he said. He admires Jordan’s “tranquility” and his “steady hand, steady path.”

Jordan has said he will be actively involved in contract negotiations until his departure, available in whatever way PFT needs him until June 30, and even afterward.

But Steinberg is no stranger to negotiations. He was first at the table in the contentious 2000 contract talks, and has helped hammer out every contract since then.

At the top of the priority list in the 2024 contract, Steinberg said, are, no surprise: salary and benefits.

“We really are looking to increase salaries for everybody,” said Steinberg.

But also important are “general, overall, daily working conditions — that would include attendance, facilities, interactions between principals and staff, paperwork — that’s still a big issue,” said Steinberg.

PFT staff are now combing through member proposals, discerning the rank-and-file priorities; Steinberg will “try to achieve as many as we can,” he said.

Steinberg said safeguarding conditions in Philadelphia schools is paramount.

“Our working conditions are kids’ learning conditions,” said Steinberg. “We think we’re the foremost advocates for kids in the School District of Philadelphia.”

Even though a Commonwealth Court judge ruled Pennsylvania’s state funding system unconstitutional last year and a legislative committee adopted a report calling for an additional $9 billion in spending on Pennsylvania’s schools over the next seven years, there are no guarantees, Steinberg said.

The PFT must continue to fight for fair funding, said Steinberg.

“I’d really like to be able to instigate for those funds to be secured for the district in a much shorter time frame than the seven years,” he said. “If we can get more money, then we can make schools safe.”

No other PFT members declared their candidacy for president; only Steinberg’s collective bargaining team filed a nominating petition.

But this is the first time in several years that the collective bargaining team was not challenged by the Caucus of Working Educators, a group within the union whose members have argued that Jordan and his team were too top-down, not responsive enough to members, and too slow to embrace progressive causes.

The Working Educators caucus announced in November it would not run a slate of candidates, but it would continue to work on issues it considered crucial. Because, though, Jordan kept his retirement under wraps until the deadline for candidates to present nominating ballots, that effectively shut out anyone who might see an opening with his departure.

That has rankled some PFT members.

Asked to comment, the Working Educators caucus referred to its November statement, saying its members are “not stopping our work” and are committed to priorities including altering the district’s current system for teachers’ sick day use, which makes them subject to disciplinary action when they take three nonconsecutive days the contract entitles them to. The caucus also said it wants “a transparent negotiating process and strike readiness.”

Steinberg said procedures were followed around his election.

“Anyone could have run,” he said.

Though he has not worked in a school for over 40 years, Steinberg said he would listen closely to members’ needs and their feedback about the day-to-day realities of working in Philadelphia schools in 2024, both through his own outreach and the work of PFT staff representing all 216 schools.

“I’ll be engaging with members,” he said. “I’ve always spoken to members when they’ve called. I’ll be meeting with everyone — staff and members.”

Steinberg’s top team will include Wendy Coleman, who will be general vice president; LeShawna Coleman, treasurer; Cyndi Bolden, secretary; Benjamin Hover, legislative representative; and Trina Dean, associate secretary.