'Overwhelming majority’ of Philly DC 33 union members vote to authorize strike if no agreement reached
'Overwhelming majority’ of Philly’s largest blue collar union vote to authorize a strike pending agreement
95% of members in Philadelphia’s largest blue-collar municipal workers union voted in favor of walking off the job if their demands are not met, according to the District Council 33 President.
PHILADELPHIA - Thousands of Philadelphia city workers are threatening to strike.
What we know:
95 percent of members in Philadelphia’s largest blue-collar municipal workers union voted in favor of walking off the job if their demands are not met, according to the District Council 33 President, who told FOX 29, "we are not playing about this."
"We meet all the essential needs for all of Philadelphia, and we need the city to meet our needs so that we can continue to provide those services that are pivotal," said Greg Boulware, President of District Council 33. "The city is an expensive place to live and being the sixth largest city in the country, the wages for many of the membership do not meet those demands at all."
Boulware says in addition to wages, they are focusing on health benefits and pension in negotiations, which will continue next week ahead of their one-year contract ending on June 30th.
He says a strike is not imminent, and the goal is to avert the strike by reaching an agreement.
Their current contract included a five percent wage increase, the highest wage increase for District Council 33 shown in city records dating back to 1992.
"If we’re on strike you’ll essentially see an end to every city service that goes on around here," said Boulware. "I’m hoping these next two weeks the city comes to the table with meaningful conversation we can work towards to divert this strike."
The union represents roughly 9,000 municipal workers, including those in sanitation, in the water department, and some airport employees as well.
The Mayor’s Office declined to comment on the strike authorization.
However, last week, during a news conference about the budget, Mayor Cherelle Parker pointed to a $550 million labor reserve, which she says is historic.
"I am unapologetic about being pro-labor, pro-worker, pro-union mayor, and we will make sure we do it with fiscal responsibility and fairness in mind," she said.
District Council 33 is one of the four municipal unions in the city that has a contract expiring at the end of the month.