Flint teachers have agreed to major wage concessions in their new contract.
Flint teachers have been working without a contract for two years. This week, the teachers approved a new two year contract, under which their pay will be cut by seven percent.
Ethel Johnson is the president of United Teachers of Flint. She says the union agreed to the concessions, in part because of the Flint district’s financial problems, and partly because of legislation passed in Lansing that could have forced Flint teachers to accept even deeper concessions.
“We’re not pleased with it,” Johnson says, “We think that the district has…some poor management skills…and we are suffering the consequences of it.”
Johnson expects the pay cut will force some Flint teachers to leave the school district and others will have to get second jobs.
Flint school superintendent Linda Thompson says the “agreement is a critical component” to protect “the district’s financial interests and obligations.”
The Flint Board of Education is expected to vote on the new contract next week.
