CLAYMONT – Teachers and specialists in the Brandywine School District celebrated a major union victory on Monday night as their solidarity through a nearly year-long contract impasse resulted in a deal that will successfully raise the pay and protect the working conditions of more than 1,000 public school educators.
“This is a huge win for teachers and specialists here in the Brandywine School District and everyone in Delaware who supports public education and union labor,” said Brandywine Education Association President Steve Rulon, a chemistry teacher in the district for more than 20 years.
"We win when we stand together.”
Steve Rulon, BEA President
“We win when we stand together,” he said. “And I am so incredibly proud to stand alongside so many fearless public school educators who refused to break ranks and refused to back down until we got a fair labor deal that makes the Brandywine School District stronger for our students, stronger for our families and stronger for our community.”
The Brandywine School Board’s vote to approve a new 3-year contract with BEA on Monday came just hours after union members voted to ratify a tentative deal that was reached during negotiations mediated by the Delaware Public Employment Relations Board.
Teachers and specialists in the Brandywine School District had been working under an expired contract since June 2024 – an extension of their last 3-year contract which had expired in 2023.
Even after voters in early 2024 overwhelmingly approved a referendum that was supposed to help the district recruit and retain educators, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement that would keep the Brandywine School District competitive with neighboring districts and surrounding states while maintaining protections for educator working conditions.
Union members began protesting the lack of progress last Fall through escalating collective actions that included wearing red to school, entering and exiting school buildings en masse, and collectively walking out of school board meetings.
By December, union members were picketing outside of their school buildings before and after providing a full day of instruction to their students – even through snow and freezing temperatures.
“Public educators in Delaware proved once again that we are willing to stand up and fight to deliver the best possible education for our students,” said Stephanie Ingram, president of the Delaware State Education Association. “You can’t provide a great education without great educators, and I am thankful for the great educators in the Brandywine School District who stood their ground until they got a labor deal that respects their dedication and their commitment to preparing all students for a lifetime of success.”
BEA is one of more than 40 local unions that make up DSEA, the largest labor union in Delaware representing nearly 14,000 public school educators throughout the First State.
Despite reaching a new labor agreement with the district on Monday, an unfair labor practices charge filed by BEA against Brandywine School Board President Ralph Ackerman following a confrontation on the picket lines is still pending before the Delaware Public Employment Relations Board.
A hearing in that case has not yet been scheduled.
