The Office of Catholic Education (OCE) began the process of negotiating a potential early bird contract with the Association of Catholic Teachers (ACT) in mid-April. Representatives of OCE bargained in good faith with the Association in the hope of reaching an early labor agreement for the 2015-2016 academic year.

The Archdiocese is committed to a contract agreement that respects the needs of not only our teachers but also our school families who sacrifice to provide a quality Catholic education for their children. Any contract agreement needs to put students first and have the principal goal of providing for education excellence in a 21st century learning environment.

Unfortunately, the Association voted to reject the contract offer under consideration earlier today. The Office of Catholic Education will now enter full contract negotiations with the Association to come to an agreement on a contract that will be fair to all parties while recognizing that the needs and expectations of our students and school families are paramount.

Editor’s Note: The contract negotiations pertain only to the 17 Archdiocesan high schools. There are approximately 14,000 students enrolled in these schools and approximately 625 teachers who are members of ACT.

Parish and regional Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are not affected by this process.

For more information on Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia please visit http://www.catholicschools-phl.org/.

Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Director of Communications
215-587-3747