Philly plan to "reform" collective bargaining

The Boston Consulting Group is pushing Philadelphia's school district to "undertake comprehensive collective bargaining reform” with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and, simultaneously, “pursue legislative changes” in the school code.

According to The Notebook writer Ron Whitehorne, the “reforms” advocated in this document would roll back important protections that are afforded teachers under the school code and union contract.

Writes Whitehorne:

The attack on tenure and the call for laying off teachers based on performance rather than seniority is another familiar theme that has profound implications. “Performance” is mainly about standardized test scores, always a dubious metric, but even more so after the revelations about pervasive tampering and cheating. But putting this aside, in the context of budget austerity, administrators would be looking for way to get rid of costly senior teachers, as well as those pesky activists who might challenge their authority.