City teachers, district officials negotiate into the night but reach no agreement

Negotiators for Pittsburgh Public Schools and the union representing its teachers negotiated until about 11 p.m. Friday, trying to stave off a strike threatened by the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

Ebony Pugh, a spokeswoman for the school district, said the long bargaining session produced no agreement but teachers also did not give the district the required 48-hour strike notice.

Negotiations were expected to continue next week, she said.

The PFT — which represents about 2,400 teachers, 565 paraprofessionals and 20 technical-clerical employees — on Monday voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The authorization does not necessarily mean a strike will occur, just that union leadership has the ability to call for one if an agreement can’t be reached with the school district. The PFT would have to give at least 48 hours’ notice before walking out.

Pittsburgh teachers haven’t gone on strike in more than 40 years. The last one dragged on for eight weeks, from December 1975 to January 1976. The union last voted to authorize a strike in October 2007, but a walkout was averted when the union and district agreed on a contract.

The length of a potential teacher strike would be determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education because state law says students are required to have 180 days of instruction between July 1 and June 15 each school year.

Contract negotiations between the school district and its teachers

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent Anthony Hamlet heads to a negotiating session with city teachers Friday in Downtown. The session continued late into the night.