Community College of Philadelphia faculty, adjunct professors and staff members may walk off their jobs in the coming weeks as they pursue a new contract.
The 1,200 CCP employees represented by the American Federation of Teachers Local 2026 have voted to authorize a strike, with 97% supporting the measure, the union said Monday. The vote allows the union to declare a strike by the end of March, but no date has been set and negotiations are ongoing.
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The union is negotiating separate, four-year contracts for full-time faculty, adjuncts and staffers. Their previous contracts each expired last August. There have been more than 30 bargaining sessions held since January 2024, the union said.
The union said it had hoped to make significant progress during negotiations held over the weekend, but that CCP's offers failed to address their demands to increase wages, fill vacant positions and provide free SEPTA passes for students.
"A strike is a last resort, and we've made it really clear from the administration that this is something that we do not take lightly," said Nate House, an English professor and co-chair of the union's full-time faculty. "It's something that we know is going to disrupt the lives of students."
The union said negotiations over wages have been a particular sticking point.
The union is seeking 9% pay increases in the first two years of its new deals and 6% increases in the final two years. It also wants CCP to bring wages for adjuncts in line with those at Temple University, who earn 25% more, and for staffers to make at least $20 per hour.
The union also seeks smaller class sizes, better benefits and the reopening of a child care center on campus.
House said CCP has lost professors, counselors, advisors, librarians and learning lab and maintenance workers — and the union wants the next contract to ensure staffing levels increase. Last year, City Council approved an additional $5 million in funding for CCP, which the union has said should be used for pay increases and to address staffing shortages.
There hasn't been "significant movement on any of our priorities" during negotiation sessions, House said. He said the union has received strong support from the student body, noting students have called for better learning conditions at board of trustees meetings.
"They understand what's at stake," House said. "I've been there 16 years, I've never seen the student body so involved and so vocal and so willing to join us in a disruption if it makes their academics experience better."
On March 6, the college requested the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board appoint a third-party panel to examine proposals from both sides in order to reach a settlement. But Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, secretary of Local 2025 and a CCP assistant professor, said CCP missed the filing deadline and expects the request to be denied at a hearing Tuesday.
In a statement, CCP said the union opposed the fact-finding request, adding that striking before a response to the request would be unlawful. The college also said the union did not formally notify it of the outcome of its strike authorization vote or provide the number of members who voted.
"Doing so demonstrates that the Federation is more interested in striking than doing the work to ensure that students can graduate on time, but it is the logical next step for leadership who began advertising 'strike school' to its members weeks before negotiations with the College even began," the college said.
CCP will continue providing student support services without interruption, regardless of any strike's timeline, the college said.
Last Thursday, Mayor Cherelle Parker introduced a budget proposal that allocates $270 million over the next five years to CCP, plus another $15 million to support its workforce.
"We welcome any increase to funding for CCP, and Mayor Parker's plan is a good start ... After four decades of disinvestment in Philly's college, we must invest in CCP students and the faculty and staff who support them," Johnson-Valenzuela said in an email.
This story was updated after publication to include the response from the Community College of Philadelphia.