April 07, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
The American Federation of Teachers Local 2026 says the Community College of Philadelphia has not kept promises to provide students with free SEPTA passes and to reopen a child care center on campus.
One year ago, the Community College of Philadelphia reached new contracts with its unionized professors and staffers, averting a strike by mere hours. But the union now claims the school isn't upholding good faith commitments made at the time.
The American Federation of Teachers Local 2026 says CCP has failed to provide free SEPTA passes for students and has not reopened a childcare center on campus.
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The union represents 1,200 full-time professors, adjuncts and staffers. The workers had threatened to walk off the job on March 26, 2025, but they reached new contract agreements with CCP early that morning after 19 hours of negotiations.
On Tuesday, Marissa Johnson Valenzuela, the union's secretary, said CCP's commitment to provide SEPTA passes to students was a key reason why the union agreed not to strike. But one year later, she said, CCP only has conducted a survey to gauge student interest and started a pilot program at CCP's Career and Advanced Technology Center in West Philly. There, she said, the passes only are being given to full-time students that apply for them.
Johnson Valenzuela said CCP committed to providing students with SEPTA passes in a memorandum of understanding signed last year. The commitment was not included in the contracts with the union. And because the union can't bargain on behalf of students, Johnson Valenzuela said, it can't take CCP to court over a lack of passes.
"They know that students would use this and that students would benefit from this, it's just a no-brainer and it's also what they agreed to," Johnson Valenzuela said. "So we feel like we don't want to go back and negotiate whether or not it's the right thing to do, they already agreed to it. I think they're trying to wiggle the way out of it."
The union also wants the college to reopen a child care center that was closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson Valenzuela said she hasn't been able to get college officials to answer any questions about the space or its future.
CCP and the union signed a non-contractual memorandum that only stated the college would negotiate with SEPTA for student passes, CCP spokesperson Shannon Rooney said. In accordance, CCP and SEPTA have continued to hold meetings, including as recently as April 6, she said.
"While we appreciate the Federation's advocacy for students, they are not the elected representatives of the student body," Rooney said in an email. "The college has been working directly with the elected Student Government Association to assess student interest while we continue to evaluate costs and sustainability. This data will be used to inform next steps regarding SEPTA, which will be announced in the coming months."
The union had been working without a contract for months before the professors, adjuncts and staffers each reached similar agreements in March 2025.
The contracts included a 6.5% wage increase in the first year followed by a 5.5% increase in the year two and 5% raises in years three and four. The deals also included additional paid parental leave and reduced the maximum class size by four students. At the time, CCP officials said the union was invited to participate in discussions the school was having with SEPTA to provide the free transit passes.
Because the memorandum of understanding is separate from the contracts, Johnson Valenzuela said CCP students and the union are left to put public pressure on the school to uphold the agreement.
Sultan Smalley, a student at CCP, said that thousands of students have signed a petition calling for the passes. Students also have sent hundreds of emails to the board of trustees, asking the college to follow through on the program.
"I think if it wasn't for students like us who are like holding their feet to the fire, they would just let it slip by and think that nobody would notice," Smalley said.
Last month, CCP's board of trustees unanimously approved a 9.4% tuition increase. The hike, which will be implemented in the fall of 2026, raises the cost per credit hour from $159 to $174.
This story was updated after publication to include a statement from the Community College of Philadelphia.
