Mayor Bill de Blasio, his negotiating team, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew announced on Thursday a preliminary contract deal between the City and the teachers union. The nine-year, $5.5 billion contract covers the five years the UFT has been working under an expired contract and extends four years into the future. It includes retroactive pay to match what other municipal unions received in 2009 and 2010, significant healthcare cost savings, and a variety of changes related to the mechanics of schools and teaching. Many of the details of the contract were not revealed on Thursday. The contract is awaiting approval by the Municipal Labor Council and UFT members. If passed, it will be used as a model as the de Blasio administration negotiates contracts with the other roughly 150 municipal unions working under expired contracts.

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