The Parker administration reached what was a “fiscally responsible” deal with District Council 33. Whether or not it was fair depends on who you ask.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City officials providing the update on the tentative 3-year contract agreement reached on Wednesday between the City of Philadelphia and AFSCME District Council 33.
Photo: Video grab-City of Phila. GOTV
By Denise Clay-Murray
The eight-day District Council 33 strike came to an end early Wednesday morning.
Mayor Cherelle Parker posted a statement on social media announcing the end of the strike by the city’s largest labor union in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. The agreement came at the end of a 14-hour negotiating session at the Community College of Philadelphia’s West Philadelphia campus.
Workers started returning to their posts lWednesday morning. Libraries began opening on Wednesday and pools and recreation centers impacted by the strike are expected to be open on Monday, July 14.
The deal, which must be ratified by the members of DC33, is a three-year, $115 million pact that will provide a total of 9% in raises over the life of the deal. The contract also includes a $1,500 bonus the first year and includes the 5% that Parker gave them in a one-year deal that expired July 1.
Also included in the contract is a 2% base salary increase that half of DC33’s 9,000 members will get now, and 80% will get by the end of the contract.
During a press conference held at City Hall on Wednesday, Parker praised the efforts of her staff and said that the deal represents just how much the city cares about its workers.
“You can’t tell me that you believe that there is dignity in all work and just say that in words or an easy social media post with a fist in the air,” she said. “If you believe in me and you value me, show me that in my paycheck that I take home. That’s what we did here. We balanced valuing the men and women of District Council 33 for the hard and vital work that they perform with protecting the fiscal responsibility of this city and its stability.”
“This represents a 14% pay increase over my four-year term,” she continued. “It’s the largest pay increase proposal in one term of any Philadelphia Mayor in over 30 years.”
While it’s not an actual part of the deal, Parker talked up how the One Philly mortgage program that she had talked about doing as part of the H.O.M.E (Housing Opportunities Made Easy) plan will also go a long way toward making this contract and the ones to come more amenable to Philadelphia’s workers.
“Turn The Key is an amazing program,” she said. “You build the houses. But if our people can’t get qualified for the mortgages because they can’t meet the underwriting criteria of the prime market, how have we helped our workforce? We needed to use it as a tool for attraction and retention. So, I want you to not just think about our 33 employees. Think about anybody we need to incentivize to choose Philadelphia.
We’re giving you access to an opportunity to get pre-qualified for a mortgage so that you can go out and shop for your own house.”
Throughout the negotiations, Parker promised to give DC33 members a “fair” yet “fiscally responsible” contract.
As he walked out to waiting reporters after the deal was announced, DC33 President Greg Boulware gave the indication that the Parker administration had only fulfilled part of that mission.
The union initially demanded raises of 5% a year and, among other things, a $5,000 “pandemic bonus.” It got neither.
“Unfortunately, a deal has been reached,” Boulware said. “The strike is over, and nobody’s happy. We felt our clock was running out. We did the best we could with the circumstances we had in front of us. We ultimately did what was in the best interests of our membership.”
“The City of Philadelphia has to do better,” he continued. “It has to put the members and the workers who handle all these essential functions as a priority for the city. I don’t feel like that’s been done.”
The agreement ended an eight-day strike that made the City of Philadelphia interesting to get around from a scent standpoint. Trash lined the city’s streets as the designated temporary trash drop-off centers filled to overflowing. Both headliners for the Fourth of July’s Welcome America Concert, LL Cool J and Philly native Jazmine Sullivan, bowed out of the show, refusing to cross picket lines.
Some people brought bags of trash that they called “Parker Piles” to City Hall itself. On Monday, a group of activists from Sunrise Movement Philadelphia, an organization that focuses on the impact of climate change on communities, were arrested for dumping trash on the floor near the Register of Wills office.
There were parts of the strike that got ugly. In addition to Parker being abused on social media and protestors literally bringing their trash to her home, two DC33 members, one of whom was pregnant, were hit by a drunk driver while on the picket line. They remained hospitalized and Parker expressed sympathy for their plight during her Wednesday press conference.
And City Solicitor Renee Garcia was busy filing injunctions. Many of the workers had been made to return to work through legal injunctions. First, it was 911 dispatch workers. Then, medical examiner’s office assistants. Then, airport maintenance personnel.
Because of the laws governing public sector employees, the union knew that the next injunction was the one that was going to force them back to work.
Chief Deputy Mayor Sincere Harris recognized that while this may look like a victory for the administration, no one wins in a family feud.
“We are proud to have reached this tentative agreement with District Council 33 today, and while we know that some in the media and pundits may focus on who won. The truth is, there is no winning when there’s a work stoppage,” she said. “There is no winning when there’s a strike, and the men and women go out on the picket lines. The City of Philadelphia doesn’t win. The members of District Council, 33 and our employees do not win. And most importantly, the residents and the citizens of Philadelphia do not win. So, we are glad to be bringing the family back together as we move forward.”
Now, the contract is in the hands of the rank and file of DC33. There’s no word on when a ratification vote on the pact will be scheduled.
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