AFSCME District Council 47 reached a tentative agreement with the City of Philadelphia at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. (Credit: Instagram @afscmedc47)
One of Philadelphia’s largest white-collar unions reached a tentative agreement with Mayor Cherelle Parker on a new three-year contract, preventing another strike as the city recovers from the recent DC 33 week-long demonstration.
AFSCME District Council 47 (DC 47) constitutes more than 7,000 public service workers across the Philadelphia region, including non-profit, higher education, culture/arts, and government occupations. For instance, the union represents staff from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
DC 47 had been working on its contract with the Parker Administration since April. As of July 12, city officials had offered the union a three-year term with raises of 2.5%, 2.5% and 3%, in addition to a $1,000 bonus.
However, the union denounced the proposal because it lacked improvements in health benefits, an adequate longevity pay scale, and changes to “archaic” work rules and scheduling practices.
“With a vacancy rate of almost 1 out of 5 civil service positions, the Parker Administration should share our goal of improving city jobs to recruit more of the ‘best and brightest,’” said the union in a statement.
“Despite our reasonable and productive proposals, the city is stalling on ensuring city workers are compensated fairly for the high-quality and consistent services we provide.”
On Monday, DC 47 concluded a four-day voting period for a potential strike authorization. This would have enabled the union to go on strike — like the municipal workers of DC 33 — if their demands were not met.
Results of the vote were expected to be announced Tuesday, but instead, at around 5:30 a.m., both parties reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract after negotiating all night.
In a statement released on social media, Mayor Parker announced the agreement that must be ratified by the members of DC 47. The new contract will increase DC 47 members’ pay by 13.5% over Parker's four-year term.
“We are valuing our city workers and protecting our city’s hard-earned fiscal stability at the same time,” said Mayor Parker.
