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Archdiocese Catholic High School Teachers Strike Update

The Archdiocese and the teachers union take distinctly different tones as strike approaches the one week mark.

By Bob Byrne
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September 13, 2011

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Teachers went on strike at Archbishop Carroll last week.

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Teachers went on strike at Archbishop Carroll last week.

Credit Jim Heck

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Letter from the teacher's union to members as posted on the union's website Tuesday evening.

Credit Bob Byrne http://o3.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/9fba8221a7fc2a6941233525bfebc7f5 http://o4.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/patch/ed73ff626fa5ed0c99338dd7ade6903d

Letter from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to parents of high school students in Archdiocesan high schools, including Archbishop Carroll in Radnor.

Credit Ann Cornell http://o1.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/acd994bb4ab6be116bb5f6fe9f2070c0 http://o3.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/patch/2c817d354824cc8ee882ee3ca9ac7ddd

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Tuesday afternoon the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which operates 17 high schools in and around Philadelphia, and The Association of Catholic Teachers which represents about 800 striking teachers issued negotiation updates.

The two sides resumed negations at 1 p.m. Tuesday after the Archdiocese announced school would be closed on Wednesday for high school students and remain closed until a contract settlement is reached. The closings affect only high schools operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia and not K-8 parish schools or Devon Prep, which is a private school.

As of 7 p.m. the union and the Archdiocese had issued updates on the negotiations, although it was not clear whether the union's update to members was posted on the ACT 1776 local union website before or after the Tuesday afternoon bargaining session.

To read the Archdiocese's letter to parents and the union's letter to striking teachers click on the links or on the PDF's.

The Archdiocese also emailed the following statement to Patch and other media outlets just before 6 p.m. Tuesday.

On Monday there was steady progress in negotiations with many proposals being exchanged and a number of issues resolved. At the urging of the Archdiocese the Association agreed to face-to-face discussions which were very effective.

Discussions have been ongoing today. This progress confirms that the quickest and most effective way to resolve the issues at hand is for the parties themselves to talk about them. The Archdiocesan position on mediation is unchanged because of the unique issues facing Catholic schools.

We are willing to work around the clock to provide our students and school families with the best educational environment possible. Discussions over the past two days have been productive. With the parties who best understand these issues remaining at the table and continuing to make progress, we can accomplish our goal.