TIVE PHILLY’S NEWS ALTERNA
PHILLYWEEKLY.COM
MUSIC
MAY 3 - 10, 2017
Class warfare
Four years without a contract, but Philly teachers can’t strike. However, there are creative ways to get the message across.
FLASHBACK FILMS
BY MAX MARIN
Film Society’s nostalgic movies are a hit. (Plus: QUIZZO!)
SEE PAGE 14
THEATER
THEATER TRIO
Philly playwrights dish on their latest stagings. SEE PAGE 12
CALENDAR
CREDIT: LURIA VISUALS
G
SPRING FEST!
South Street block party takes over this weekend. SEE PAGE 15
eorge Bezanis used to grouse with colleagues over beers in dimly lit barrooms on school nights, bemoaning that they, unionized workers represented by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, have worked nearly four years without a contract and five without a raise, and more often than not those gripe sessions used to end with empty glasses and a sense that nothing could be done. Under Pennsylvania’s Act 46, which went into effect in 2001, teachers in “distressed” school districts such as Philadelphia’s are not guaranteed a contract negotiation. The act also stripped teachers of their right to strike, and they were placed under the vice grip of the School Reform Commission. In short, the toolkit of organized labor has long been denuded for the PFT. Without a strike, how could the teachers make a case for their labor, let alone in light of the school district’s hellishly numerous woes? How could they even gain media exposure? SEE PAGE 9