Philly school principals' union turns down contract

The union that represents Philadelphia School District principals and other administrators Wednesday night rejected a proposed four-year contract that called for a 3 percent bonus, some salary increases, and no increase in health-care costs.

Robert McGrogan, president of Teamsters Local 502 of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, said his membership rejected the tentative agreement by a "decisive margin."

The union had held four meetings and had twice delayed voting on the agreement, reached last month. Union members had said they needed more information and time before they could vote.

"Compensation aside, it is the conditions under which most of us work that is completely unacceptable," McGrogan said in a statement after a general membership meeting at Lincoln High School in the Northeast.

In a statement Wednesday night, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said the School District was "deeply disappointed" by the vote.

"We believed this agreement was one that offered CASA members terms they would support," the statement said.

Hite added that "hours of open and productive talks produced a proposed agreement that recognized the sacrifice CASA members made during some very challenging times and was consistent with what we have offered our other unions."

He said no further talks had been scheduled.

"I don't know when we'll be returning to negotiations," said McGrogan, whose union represents more than 480 district employees.

He said that with recent funding cutbacks, many schools have been deprived of the resources they need to function effectively.

"School administrators have been required to do their own work and also serve as a catchall that is responsible for anything else that may or does not occur," he said.

Meanwhile, union members have "witnessed a swell of offices in central administration that has the authority to place additional demands on schools," McGrogan said.

Rather than increasing central office positions, the district should place more employees in schools to help principals and others "get the work done," the union president said.

McGrogan said that the district had included language in the tentative agreement to improve working conditions, but that the language was "rather soft." He said his members believed they needed a stronger commitment from the district to address working conditions.

McGrogan had promised that terms of the new pact would be "far better" than those approved in 2014, when the district was in a financial crisis. Two years ago, there were concerns that schools might not open on time, and members agreed to steep pay cuts and other concessions. That contract expires Aug. 31.

The compensation package the union rejected included a combination of bonuses, step raises based on years of service, and increases in base pay.

The union represents staffers in a wide range of positions, including employees who perform a mixture of clerical and administrative duties and earn $33,000 a year. McGrogan's unit also covers principals who are paid $150,000 annually to work 12 months at district turnaround schools known as Promise Academies.

martha.woodall@phillynews.com 215-854-2789 @marwooda