Retroactive pay due to D.C. teachers as part of a new teachers union contract has been delayed a month, city officials say.
According to the contract reached with the Washington Teacher’s Union in December, members who have been working since 2020 will receive retroactive payment for the three years they worked without a contract.
The payments were scheduled to go out to members on May 19, but administrators now say that they’ll only receive partial payment on that date.
According to city officials, “administrative complications” have delayed the full payout for teachers until June 16. The city says that the delay is to make sure that all members receive the correct amount.
City Administrator Kevin Donahue told the union that the process for finalizing payments is incredibly complicated. Each individual payment must be approved by D.C. Public Schools and validated by an independent validation team. The validation process typically takes about eight weeks according to Mr. Donahue.
WTU said the delay diminishes trust between the two institutions.
Teachers are “finding out during Teacher Appreciation Week that money you were counting on won’t be coming. They have promised to get partial payment, but teachers were counting on full payment. And so it’s disappointing and upsetting,” WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons told WTOP News.
This year’s contract is the first since the previous one expired in 2019. The new agreement netted teachers improved benefits and a 12% raise over four years.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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