The Secondary School System of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Association of Catholic Teachers, Local 1776 (ACT 1776) have ratified a new three-year Early Bird Labor-Management Agreement covering full-time lay teachers at the 15 Archdiocesan high schools across the five-county region. The agreement was reached following a collaborative negotiation process that began in February 2026. Representatives from both the Archdiocesan high school system and ACT 1776 worked together to finalize a contract that supports their shared commitment to providing a strong Catholic education for students and families. The agreement applies only to the Archdiocese’s 15 secondary schools, which serve more than 10,400 students and employ approximately 650 full-time lay teachers who are members of ACT 1776. Parish and regional Catholic elementary schools are not covered by the contract and were not involved in the negotiations process.