By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
With safety concerns and pay raises on the bargaining table, the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and the District of Columbia Public Schools reached a tentative five-year contract agreement on Sept. 30.
When preliminary contract negotiations began last September, some teachers criticized Dr. Lewis Ferebee, chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, for not attending the initial meetings with WTU officials. However, Ferebee did make his presence known in subsequent meetings.
During a televised statement, Ferebee pointed out that the previous contract, which was reached during the pandemic, was different from the new contract in that it is forward facing rather than retroactive. He added that his team simply did not have adequate outcomes in the last contract negotiation.
While it took just over a year for both sides to reach an agreement, the Union’s last contract took over three years, and the one preceding that required close to five years in negotiations.
In a press release from WTU, President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons said that she’s pleased with the contract, and that further details will be made public within the next few weeks after union members have reviewed the tentative agreement.
“The highlights of the contract include fair and good pay raises but maybe more importantly, educators will be able to work under better conditions that should go a long way to improving recruitment and retention problems that have plagued the District,” she said, adding that her team pushed hard and obtained “decent and fair raises over the course of the five-year contract, despite the District’s contention that it was working in a tight financial environment.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten agreed, describing the tentative agreement as a “real accomplishment.”
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