Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nov. 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. [AP Photo\/Matt Rourke]<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s municipal workers are voicing anger at the unions, AFSCME District Councils 33 and 47, charging that union officials continue to isolate rank-and-file struggles and push through deals that fall short of members\u2019 needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, a World Socialist Web Site team traveled to Philadelphia to speak to workers as they voted on the DC 33 agreement. They handed out the Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Committee\u2019s statement, published the day the DC 33 tentative agreement (TA) was announced. The statement declares<\/a>, \u201cThe union officials deliberately sabotaged us because they are joined at the hip with the same Democratic administration we\u2019re fighting against.\u201d<\/p>\n The committee states the strike \u201chas shown that workers are ready to fight. It has shown that the ruling class\u2014Democrats and Republicans alike\u2014are terrified of a real working-class movement. And it has shown that a different leadership is needed.\u201d It proposed that workers join and build the committee in \u201ca common fight\u201d against government attacks on their living standards.<\/p>\n Many workers in Philadelphia spoke about the harsh conditions in the city. \u201cThe cost of living in this city is not matching the pay [we\u2019re receiving],\u201d said a sanitation worker outside the AFSCME District Council 33 headquarters.<\/p>\n Another worker exclaimed that \u201cthe supermarkets are outrageous. What I used to buy for $200\u00a0 would fill my cabinets and refrigerator.\u201d \u201cNow it\u2019s lucky if I leave with two or three bags\u201d another worker continued. Both workers agreed that municipal workers need to strike together to \u201cmake a bigger impact.\u201d<\/p>\n But this is exactly what the AFSCME municipal union bureaucracy doesn\u2019t want.\u00a0<\/p>\n Demonstrating this view on Wednesday, an AFSCME union representative approached WSWS reporters as they leafleted to workers outside DC 33 headquarters. The official asserted they had no right to stand on the public sidewalk in front of the building. The official revealed he had been sent by \u201cthe union president\u201d to tell the reporters off, claiming the WSWS is \u201cconfusing workers\u201d about the contract and contradicting what AFSCME says about it.<\/p>\n In fact, workers know from reading the TAs that they are sell outs. The unions\u2019 social media pages themselves are full of harsh and critical comments denouncing the union and the new agreements.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s the part we\u2019re gonna love? Are there a couple pages missing? This is friggin\u2019 awful,\u201d said a worker of the DC 47 TA. \u201cIf the No\u2019s win, are you going to just sign the contract anyways?\u201d asked another.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen [AFSCME national president] Lee Saunders got involved\u2026 he told [DC 33 president Greg] Boulware to wrap things up,\u201d said another worker, referring to the AFSCME president\u2019s brief visit<\/a> to the picket line the day before the strike ended. \u201cThey clearly didn\u2019t want this strike,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n More details on white-collar contract<\/p>\n More details have emerged about DC 47\u2019s proposed three-year contract for 3,000 white collar city workers. The new agreement raises base pay by a cumulative 13.5 percent through a combination of sub-inflation annual increases (2.5 percent, 3 percent, 3 percent) and a $1,250 signing bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n The DC 47 agreement has sought to cover its substandard wage offer with pay gimmicks. It will boost salaries at service milestones, with percentage hikes replacing one-time bonuses: 1.5 percent after 5 years, 1.75 percent after 10, and 2 percent after 15 years. Nothing in the details publicly released suggests that these increases will be applied retroactively, and workers will have to reach advanced years of seniority for such increases to truly make any difference in their pay.<\/p>\n Slightly increased differentials for night and weekend shifts are also included, and city contributions to health and welfare funds will rise slightly. The TA doesn\u2019t say anything about re-introducing remote work even on a limited basis. Democratic Mayor Cherelle Parker removed remote working options last July, officially ending the final COVID-19 health protocols that remained in place for city employees.<\/p>\n \u201cI am worried about the younger generation, who are still struggling to find a healthy work-life balance in this system,\u201d said another white collar worker. \u201cThe city will lose a lot of talented millennials and Gen Zers if this doesn\u2019t change,\u201d they added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ending of remote work occurs as the city is undergoing a catastrophic budget crisis in its public transit system, with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) voting last month to implement its \u201cdoomsday<\/a>\u201d service cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Notably, the protections for weekend overtime pay were not<\/a> a part of the blue collar municipal workers\u2019 tentative agreement announced last week. Neither blue collar workers in District Council 33 or white collar workers have a \u201cfavored nations\u201d clause in their tentative agreements, which would allow the union with a weaker offer to obtain the other council\u2019s gains.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Tyree Ford, a striking worker municipal who was run down by a drunk driver<\/a> on the picket line, \u201cremains in critical condition at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital.\u201d The news publication reported that Ford was hit as he attempted to shield his pregnant fianc\u00e9e from the threat.<\/p>\n According to Ford\u2019s sister, the father of six is \u201cgoing to have to learn how to walk again. He has a cut in his pupil, so we don\u2019t know if he\u2019s even going to be able to see.\u201d She said Ford is recovering from \u201ca broken collarbone, a broken femur, a broken pelvis\u2026 a bruised lung. It\u2019s not punctured, but it\u2019s bruised \u2026 he has six fractures in his skull.\u201d His family has created a GoFundMe<\/a> page which has received generous support from the community and his fellow workers.<\/p>\n Other workers are fighting to obtain the $200 strike stipends that the union promised striking workers. \u201cOur checks are all short,\u201d said one worker who had been on strike to the WSWS. \u201cPeople are fighting\u201d for additional days that they were out. \u201cPeople are riled up about the call to vote \u2018no,\u2019\u201d they said. \u201cEven after Boulware gave an interview telling them to vote for the tentative agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n The Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Committee called on workers to reject the contracts being offered and demand the restart of their strike. But it is essential that workers join and build the influence of the committee and begin to take control of their struggle against the attacks on their pay and democratic rights. They must make connections with workers in other regions and nationally.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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