The union that represents thousands of workers at the Community College of Philadelphia has announced that they have come to an agreement with management and a proposed strike has been averted. NBC10’s Brenna Weick has details.
A last-hour deal was reached to avoid a faculty and staff strike at Community College of Philadelphia.
The American Federation of Teachers Local 2026, the union that represents about 1,200 teachers and workers at the Community College of Philadelphia, was set to go on strike Wednesday, March 26, 2025, unless college management met their demands, union officials said.
Then early on March 26 the union announced a tentative deal that keeps workers in classrooms and on campus.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
More details coming soon! NO STRIKE pic.twitter.com/Omjfo1B4Ay
— Faculty & Staff Community College of Philadelphia (@FSFCCP) March 26, 2025
"We finally reached an agreement around 4am," AFT Local 2026 secretary Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela said in a brief statement to NBC10.
"We believe we reached a tentative agreement that will improve the lives of our faculty and staff members and improve the learning conditions of CCP’s students."
Business
More details are expected to emerge as CCP's Board of Trustees meet later in the morning, Johnson-Valenzuela said. Union leadership will then reveal more details of what the tentative deal includes.
What was at stake for CCP, its workers?
The union announced the strike deadline earlier this week. The move came about a week after members of the union authorized a strike.
In a statement on the deadline, the union's leadership said that the decision to strike came after "almost 15 months of bargaining, hundreds of hours at the bargaining table, and working without a contract since August."
Union members said in a statement that they are "tired of waiting for management."
The union said it was seeking "fair pay, staffing, and free public transit for students" and, in a statement, union officials claimed that college management was stalling the negotiation process.
Also, the union claimed, adjunct faculty at the school are paid about 35% less than equivalent positions at nearby Temple University and the school's staffing is down 25% compared to pre-pandemic staffing levels.
This led union members, officials said, to feel overworked and underpaid.
“We have been bargaining in good faith and we will continue to bargain in good faith long into the night if necessary to get the contracts our members need,” Union Co-President Rainah Chambliss said in a statement.
In a statement released last week, officials with the Community College of Philadelphia called for a neutral third-party to review proposals from both sides and provide recommendations for a path forward.
"The college welcomes the insight of a neutral third party and can only wonder why the federation would not be confident enough in their position to invite the same," college officials said in a statement.
Also, school officials said that, among other offers on the table, they have proposed a 13% salary increase along with "enhanced best-in-class medical benefits."
Terms of the deal
In a statement release Wednesday afternoon, officials with the Community College of Philadelphia detailed terms of the tentative four-year contract agreements that were made in the early morning Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
“After a long night of bargaining, Community College of Philadelphia is glad to have reached a tentative agreement with our partners in the Faculty and Staff Federation,” said College President Donald Guy Generals in a statement. “We are grateful for the hard work and collaboration that brought us to this milestone. The agreement secures fair terms and wage increases while ensuring the financial sustainability of the College. The College is thankful the spring semester will proceed uninterrupted for our students, faculty and staff.”
Through this deal, the following wage increases will be implemented for all full-time faculty, classified employees, credit-teaching adjuncts, visiting lecturers, and part-time hourly and credit-free employees:
- Effective year one: 6.5%
- Effective year two: 5.5%
- Effective year three: 5%
- Effective year four: 5%
The following increase to the minimum hourly wages for classified employees:
- Effective year one: $20 per hour
- Effective year two: $21 per hour
- Effective year three: $22 per hour
- Effective year four: $23 per hour
The agreement, community college officials said, provides some of the "highest starting rates of pay for classified positions in the City of Philadelphia."
Among other terms of the agreement:
- The college agreed to reduce class sizes, lowering those capped at 36 students to 32 students, and those capped at 32 students to 28 students.
- To support working parents and families, the college is offering four weeks of paid parental leave for all full-time employees.
- The college will invite the union into discussions with SEPTA that have been ongoing for well over a year to negotiate providing a free public transit benefit.
- The college is making certain health benefits free for all full-time classified employees earning less than $60,000 per year.
For more Information on the negotiations, the school has set up a website at ccp.edu/negotiations.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
