In reality, the contracts of DC 47 and DC 33 settle nothing for the workers. Philadelphia transit workers are facing the expiration of their one-year contract in November, which was rammed through last November to avoid a strike<\/a>. This occurs as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) faces funding cuts,<\/a> which will cut personnel and service routes that workers and students in the city rely upon to commute.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, 14,000 public school teachers in Philadelphia<\/a> voted 94 percent in favor of authorizing a strike next month if a contract isn\u2019t in place, raising the prospect for a citywide shutdown of public schools as the school year begins.<\/p>\n The Inquirer admits in its article that future struggles are indeed coming. It notes that several more groups of city employees\u2014the firefighters and the police\u2014still must work out contracts, but they are legally barred from striking.\u00a0<\/p>\n Significantly, the publication states contracts may be rewritten by the city under certain circumstances, such as \u201cif it is in dire straits financially.\u201d It declares that it could be the case if \u201cthere is a sudden economic downturn, or President Donald Trump makes good on his threats to cut federal funding to cities.\u201d\u00a0The Inquirer calls these entirely plausible scenarios \u201cunlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n Much like in Chicago, Philadelphia workers could find themselves in a situation where the city reopens their contracts in order to make substantial cuts and layoffs<\/a> after the ink has dried on their bargaining agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The present situation makes clear that the Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee<\/a>, formed by workers to oppose AFSCME bureaucrats\u2019 sell-out of their strike, has waged an absolutely necessary fight to take control of the fight against City Hall and place the initiative into the hands of the workers themselves.<\/p>\n The ratification of the agreement comes after an eight-day strike<\/a> by members of AFSCME District Council 33. The strike was shut down right before DC 47 workers began their own strike vote, raising the potential of a broader struggle that could escape the control of the union bureaucracy and develop into an all-out fight against the Democratic Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n