The President of the AFL-CIA of the Council Philadelphia Danny Bauder, who was elected in 2022, entered the office to enhance the unification of the local workers’ movement.
“My role is to help us see a larger picture, help us see the need for greater solidarity, especially in the case of what is happening in Washington,” said Bauder, whose organization is a expansive and politically powerful federation of the work group.
The first main employees of the city with a loss for four decad-daytime stopping work by the District Council 33 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees-he found out the perfect shout of Bauder’s vision.
Instead, it showed why unity is so arduous to achieve. While many relationships came to the facilitate of DC 33, the strike also revealed the fault lines in the organized working force as a community Braces to potential upcoming disputes with the participation of Philadelphia teachers and sept employees.
During the rehearsal of DC 33-in which members of the largest and lowest paid collective collective unit took place from work, dragging services for more than a week demand for a higher salary-philadelphia employment in a arduous situation in the choice between about 9,000 commune employees with a blue colleague regarding the strike and maintaining relationships with the employee, mayor of L. Parker.
Both parties occurred a preliminary contractual agreement early Wednesday, in which Parker largely got what she wanted, maintaining increases of 3% per year, and not by 5% growth, which the relationship was striving for.
But tensions remain high in work circles with previous weekly events, especially in connection with the work that some members of Building Trades, which they performed to facilitate Parker’s administration in maintaining normality while stopping work, helping to establish and produce Wawa Welcome America concert in July four.
“The workers and scenists worked at Wawa Wita America,” said Bill Hamilton, president of Teamsters Local 107, adding that his relationship was asked to work, but refused to cross the DC 33 picke line. politics. ”
Ryan Boyer, who manages the advice of the district of workers and Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, a coalition of about 30 unions, did not answer numerous requests for comment.
The leaders of the international Alliance of theatrical Stage Local 8 did not respond to the request for comment.
Bauder said he was proud that many local work groups supported the strike. He said, however, that AFL-CIO, which includes transactions and AFSCME, is investigating the claim that members of the Union performed tasks that would otherwise hit DC 33 members.
“If conversations are needed after resolving and smoke, we will have them,” he said, adding that the allegations of the string are “definitely something I am worried about.”
One of the complicating factors is that Parker, who was chosen in 2023 with the support of the relationship and has a long work with organized work as a legislator, was never an ideal villain for relationships in the strike.
“We met with this huge challenge of the dispute over the contract, which turns into a strike with the administration – the administration, which is popular and had great support in their elections, and did good things in service,” said Bauder. “So this is not the figure of Michael Nutter, who was until he left the office, quite widely liked by the labor community,” he added, referring to the former mayor, who tried with urban associations for most of his term.
In particular, Boyer was probably the most important supporter of Parker’s victory in the mayor’s race. During the arrest, Boyer said that he did not believe that supporting the mayor helped to choose, and thousands of city employees during the strike was a “mutually exclusive” choice.
“We want them to get an sincere contract and we know that the mayor will do the best,” said Boyer.
He also aggressively criticized DC 33 supporters who personally attacked Parker and who published their online address to encourage people to blow garbage at her home.
Another relationship caught in the middle was the local 32BJ International Association of Service employees, which also played a key role in the victory of the mayor of Parker.
During the strike, the State Council of Seiu Pennsylvania, which includes 32BJ and other relationships, issued a statement in which its members “stand with employees of the Public Sector AFSCME DC 33, who strike on a fair contract, earning and retirement security.” But local leaders 32BJ clearly refused to comment during the strike.
The Federation of Philadelphia teachers, which is currently in contract negotiations with the school district, refused to comment “specific allegations about the string during the 33rd strike at that time.”
But the President of the Union Arthur G. Steinberg said that “scabs are poorer, treacherous behavior and cannot be tolerated by organized work for a second.”
“At a time when the difficult right of employees to organize is under a direct fire from the Supreme Office in the country, the labor force should stand side by side to withstand all attacks on our existence,” said Steinberg in a statement.
“Our guys will not cross the line”
The concert Wawa Welcome America in July fourth became an inflammatory point during the strike after the LL Cool J and Jazmin Sullivan Headliners canceled their performances in Solidarity with striking employees.
The program lasted – with some help of relationships.
Before the concert, the City Managing Director Office sent E -Mail, obtained by Inquirer, to about 80 non -union -union employees, asking if “willing to physical (the ability to raise to 50 pounds) … to facilitate configure bicycle racks at Parkway from July 4.”
The next e -mail appeared the next morning with the question of whether any of the employees heterogeneous “had a CDL certificate or forklift”.
The city could not find the needed help in its own ranks and turned to Elliott-Lewis, a private contractor, who often cooperates with the city.
Elliott-Lewis did not answer the request for comment.
Hamilton said that teamsters were asked to work on the basis of an Elliott-Lewis contract, running forklifts while preparing for the concert at Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
“Our guys did not cross the line,” said Hamilton. But workers from the workers’ association did it, he said.
Although Teamsters refused to participate, said Hamilton, Boyer and organized their payment.
“He said that he would pay our dozen people,” said Hamilton. “He stayed in his word.”
During the concert of the video technician he told Inquirer that he was an IATSE member.
Hamilton said that it is possible that workers and stage agreements from Elliott-Lewis prevented them from refusing to work. But if it was so, he said, it’s no coincidence.
“They don’t put the appropriate language in the contract,” said Hamilton. “We ordered language in our contracts.”
As for Parker, who was limply based on private performers during the strike and accepted the fights for the leadership of DC 33 at public information conferences, Hamilton said that the mayor “should be ashamed of her actions and words during this strike.”
“There are no friends on my side of delivery, I can tell you this,” he said.
Parker spokesman refused to respond to Hamilton’s comments.
During the Wednesday press conference after the end of the strike, Parker admitted that the passage next to the rehearsal would require the reconstruction of the relationship.
“You can’t go through something so intense and you don’t have to go through the time of treatment,(*33*)undeniably pro-labor, pro relationships, pro-robotnik.”
For Bauder, the main task after the strike is the same as before: the unification of the Philly labor community.
“The mayor talked a lot about healing and time for it,” he said. “I think there is an opportunity that we can all be a bit of reflection now.”
Staff writer Jake Blumgart contributed to this article.
