The mayor of Cherielle L. Parker said that on Friday she was an optimist, that her administration would reach a contract for a up-to-date contract with the largest relationship for city employees, although the Union’s leader claims that its members will probably start a strike next week.
“I hope that we will leave the table with a common plane,” said Parker at the City Hall press conference. “Philadelphia, your mayor is an eternal optimist. I believe in Gty – reaching yes.”
The Parker team spent most of the Friday in negotiations with closed doors with Greg Boulware, president of the American Federation of State, District District of employees of 33 employees, which represents workers in the city, including garbage collectors and cubes on the street.
»Read more: Agreements regarding the four largest urban associations of Philly will soon expire and one threatens with a strike. Here’s what you need to know.
Agreements for all four main unions representing municipal workers in Philadelphia expire on Tuesday, the beginning of the following financial year. Union members often work on the terms of expired contracts, while up-to-date contracts are mentioned, and in these circumstances, city employees had previously paid reverse power for increases contained in up-to-date contracts.
But Boulware maintained that Tuesday was treating the contract as the final date – despite both sides this week.
“We are absolutely firm that if we do not have a contract, we plan to strike,” said Boulware in a Thursday interview. “We love our work, we like to do our work, but it is increasingly difficult to go home day by day, and you have financial conflicts and difficulties in the city for whom they provide services.”
He said that about 95% of DC 33 members voted last week to authorize boulware to call the strike as soon as 12 am. This would be the first stern strike of the Union from 1986 (the union left work briefly in October 1992, but reached a contract about 14 hours later).
Compensation in question
DC 33 members are the lowest payment of four main urban associations, which gives an average of around 46,000 USD per year. Boulware shock threat represents the years of frustration that the union members did not receive much better payment for subsequent administration of the mayor.
The strike can close many urban services, lead to garbage in residential districts and cause disruption to the celebration of July fourth in the city.
Almost 10,000 DC 33 members joined a certain point, at some point over 3,000 municipal employees represented by the AFSCME District Council 47, which includes employees of the City of Białe, such as supervisors and doctors. This relationship, which also talks to Parker’s administration, did not take voting in strike authorization.
The mayor refused to discuss the details of the negotiations on Friday. Her administration has put $ 550 million for additional costs from up-to-date employment contracts in a five -year financial plan.
“What I want … is a contract for all our urban associations that are fair and responsible in terms of tax,” said Parker. “This is my goal and I’m going to try to compromise because I am.”
Boulware said that both sides are far from the schedule of annual increases that he hopes to win for their members in the next few years.
Parker team, led by the main deputy mayor of Sinceré Harris, initially offered four years of 2% of annual increases, and DC 33 asks for four years 8% increases.
On Wednesday, Boulware said that both sides came to each other: the administration offered a three -year contract with 2%, 2.4%and 3%increases, he said. A DC 33 offered four years 5.75% of increases.
Despite this, Boulware characterized that as a “minimal” progress, which in his opinion is unlikely to prevent a strike starting on Tuesday.
Risk of strike
It is surprising on the surface that DC 33 will consider naming the first stern strike for four decades on the first day after the current contract has expired. For example, the union has never been a strike when he operated for five years without a contract during a compact duel with former mayor Michael A. Nutter, who was looking for the main concessions regarding the benefits of city employees after the economic crisis in 2008.
And unlike Nutter, Parker has mighty trade union ties and does not seem to ask for significant administration of urban relationships. Last year, she agreed to give 33 DC members 1,1400 USD and a 5% enhance, the largest in relation to the payment in relation to about 30 years.
But Boulware claims that his strike threat is not just a tender tactics.
“The only thing that would stop the strike would come to terms with us,” he said.
»Read more: The largest urban relationship in Philly claims that “this city will close this” if the contract will soon be reached
Public opinion often plays a key role in whether the strikes have been successful and Boulware said that he is convinced that Philadelphias would have DC 33.
“Everyone will be frustrated by the lack of services available at this time, even with our membership,” he said. “Overall, I think that many public opinions will feel our position.”
Boulware also said that he is not worried if DC 33 would enjoy broad support from other relationships, which can also be a factor or strikes achieve their goals. For example, Parker is close to the building industries in Philadelphia, and Boulware said that these relationships have separate priorities because they are better paid.
“We are a public sector. We are not on the same economic pitch,” he said. “They have no complaint.”
Symbula story
Boulware won his post last year after an intensive leadership battle within DC 33. The boulware faction is associated with the Parker since the mayor’s race 2023.
According to the former president of DC 33, Ernest Garrett, an ally of Boulware, the union supported Jeff Brown, who lost to the Parker in the basic democratic. But in the dramatic move of two residents of DC 33 broke and supported Parker.
Omar Salaam, the leader of one of these residents, then became the president of DC 33 after his faction accused Garrett of expenses without the consent of the Union Executive Council.
Boulware, in turn, defeated Salaam in bitter elections for the President of the Union last year, in which they both got involved in a physical confrontation, which attracted the police to the headquarters of the Union.
Boulware emerged from a dispute between a significant enhance in compensation for DC 33 members. Last year, he fought with Parker for months, when the mayor asked all four unions to sign an annual extension of contracts, instead of established many years of contracts to enable its administration in the first year.
This year, he aggressively gave his intention to call for a strike if he did not get significant concessions from the city. Although Parker predicted trust on Friday, urban agencies are preparing for potential stopping.
DC 33 represents first line employees in every corner of the city’s government, including work crews with the water department Philadelphia, employees of parks and recreational centers and maintenance workers at the international airport in Philadelphia.
Water Commissioner Randy Hayman sent an internal note on Thursday, which presents agency plans for further service in the event of a strike. Employees who are not represented by DC 33 may be transferred to different roles, wrote in a note that Inquirer obtained. He said that the planned free time for these employees would be canceled during the strike.
“In anticipation of a possible strike, the department has established and introduce the continuity of operational plans,” wrote Hayman.
President of the City Council Kenyatta Johnson said he hopes that both sides would continue the fair and avoid a strike.
“My position is – regardless of political comments, attitudes – we want both sides to stay at the table to conclude a contract,” Johnson told journalists on Friday. “People in the city of Philadelphia do not want to see a strike, so we want both sides to sit at the table as long as it takes.”
