Under an ordinance that will come before Philadelphia City Council next week, workers who find themselves displaced when buildings that change hands will get protections they didn’t have before.
By Denise Clay-Murray
Sure, Philadelphia City Council meetings are interesting and always have something going on.
For example, on Thursday, the names of the nine people selected by Mayor Cherelle Parker to be on the School Board were given to Council and will be headed to the appropriate committee.
Also, Councilmember Kendra Brooks introduced a piece of legislation that if passed would make the city’s Eviction Diversion program permanent. The program, which was created during the 2020 COVID pandemic lockdowns, helps keep low-income people from being evicted from their homes and makes landlords whole through Targeted Financial Assistance. It’s a program that is being duplicated around the country and has also been praised by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a model that could work statewide.
But following Council, I paid a visit to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and watched as this committee passed Bill 240088, a bill that would provide protections to employees working in places like office buildings from being victimized when these buildings make changes in ownership or focus.
Under this bill, which amends Chapter 9-2300 of the Philadelphia Code, the definition of “essential worker” gets expanded to include concierges and door attendants.
It also requires that if a building changes ownership, or closes due to renovations, the new owner can’t terminate a service contract without first giving 15 calendar days’ notice. Also, the amount of time that a contract worker has to have worked at a business before receiving transition assistance is reduced to 90 days from eight months. Businesses will also be required to give laid-off workers first crack at any jobs, according to the amendment.
The amendment also includes a separate category of protections for laid-off employees in security, janitorial services, building maintenance, concierge and door attendant services employed in a building for at least six months in the year before their layoff if the layoff is connected to the property’s closure after January 2024.
Apparently, under Chapter 9-2300 as it’s currently written, businesses can make a change like this and fire everyone en masse. The change fixes this, Councilmember Jim Harrity said.
“This bill closes a loophole,” he said. “It gives essential workers some protections.”
And it’s the essential workers who have called for this change. Workers from SEIU 32BJ came to testify in support of the amendment. Many of them pointed out that this group of people, many of whom risked their lives during the COVID lockdowns because as essential workers, they had to report to work, and were owed something for their loyalty.
“During the pandemic, while the rest of the world was quarantined, our members risked their lives coming to work every day,” said Daisy Cruz, a district leader for SEIU 32BJ. “They were celebrated as ‘essential workers’ when it was still unclear exactly how the virus was spreading. This new language is not a new concept. It is simply adapting an already existing law to address changing circumstances. We ask that you continue to support us by voting yes on this Displaced Workers Bill.”
But not everybody agreed with that. Regina Hairston, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, testified that many of these revisions could have unintended consequences. She asked that the committee scale it back a little.
“This bill is sweeping, and it’s sweeping our small businesses with it,” she said. “We stand with union workers. But small businesses should be taken into consideration because when we protect one constituency, we should consider what happens to another constituency. I implore you that if you pass this legislation, you limit it to [building] conversions.”
The bill was passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation, but I don’t think this is the last word on this.
Why? Because Philadelphia is in a really pro-business mode these days. While Council has passed legislation protecting workers in such ways as a Fair Work Week, the line from getting these laws passed to getting them implemented is usually far from straight.
Also, having legislation that mandates what businesses can do hiring-wise is unpopular with the courts these days. Don’t believe me? Try to create a more diverse workforce without someone shouting, “DEI Is Bad!” and potentially taking you to court.
So, it’ll be interesting to see if the business community and workers can get on the same page. The nation’s poorest large city can only benefit if they do.
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