The Detroit Federation of Teachers on Friday said its members voted to approve a three-year contract with Detroit Public Schools.
The contract passed by a 3-to-1 margin, the union said in a release.
The DFT has in the past pushed for smaller classes, adequate books and supplies, and comparable pay for its members so that it can attract and retain top-notch teachers, it said.
About 65 percent of the union's 7,000 teachers and 2,500 support employees tentatively approved the contract Sept. 13, ending a 17-day teachers strike.
The new contract freezes salary levels for the 2006-07 year but includes a $2,000 bonus for union members this year. It also calls for union members to have been repaid in September five sick days borrowed by the district last year and repayment of three other days by Dec. 31, 2007.
Members will see base pay increases of 1 percent in the 2007-08 year and 2.5 percent in 2008-09.
In exchange, they agreed, among other things, to pay 10 percent of their health insurance premiums, eliminate attendance incentives and bonuses for student-teachers and teachers in critical-shortage areas such as chemistry and physics and to freeze five sick days each year and have them repaid when they retire.
The contract will save the district just under $60 million this year.
The district had been seeking nearly $89 million in wage and benefit concessions.