The front page of the Friday, November 22, 2024, edition of the SCOOP proclaimed the good news, “Septa reaches deal with largest workers union, averting a strike,” tells a piece of this story. However, this news is so good that it de- serves another round of spotlight.
The last things Philadelphians needed right now would have been to not have public transportation op- erating and to not have trash picked up, or crossing guards working, and so many other significant services that we often take for granted–but that gets done every day. Those who have vehicles to get around in, that’s wonderful. The reality is, however, that thousands of people depend on SEPTA to get from point A to point B on a daily basis. There are children going to school. There are people going to work and others going for appointments. We need our transportation system run- ning, and thanks to committed SEPTA Union negotia- tors and SEPTA Management, they got a deal done.
Mayor Cherelle Parker held a press conference Fri- day evening, November 22, 2024, to announce the news that a one-year agreement was reached that
averted a strike by District Council 33 members.
After not having a contract since July and weeks of negotiations, Philadelphia’s largest city workers union says it has agreed to a one-year agreement to avert a strike. Averting the AFSCME Strike was music to a lot of people’s ears. Nobody really wanted to see a strike.
Here’s some of what was said by Greg Boulware, President of District Council 33, during the press con- ference. “This evening, we signed off on a one-year extension with the city of Philadelphia that provides our members with a raise that will help raise the quality of life for our people. It’s just a stepping stone in the direction that we would like to see our membership be in. We pledged that we were going to fight for our members to change the quality of life for them and bring enlightenment into a lot of the workplace situa- tions that needed to be addressed. We want to address a lot of the inequities that have been going on over the years, and today was a step in the right direction. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve signed this one-year agreement. One of the ways that we got this done was the fact that we were in agreement that we were going to continue to push forward to make sure that we sign and work on a long-term agreement that will bring more security for our people, for the next several years- -and we will begin that journey, as soon as the New year turns over in January. We’ll be right back at the table, right back at addressing a lot of the issues that our people have, and we’re going to continue to press forward with that. We are committed to continuing to make the lives of our members of District Council 33, who we say repeatedly are Philadelphia, not just work for Philadelphia–we are Philadelphia. Philadelphia continues to work because of the work that members of District Council 33 do. We’re still striving to keep that going and keep pushing in the right direction for everyone.”
became Mayor of Philadelphia is that you don’t get anything done alone. I made a commitment to the peo- ple of this city that if they gave me the privilege of serving as their Mayor, I would work hard to make Philadelphia–I’m telling you, everywhere I go and people are talking to me, they get what the assignment is. We’re doing our best to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in the nation, with access to economic opportunities for all. As Mayor, I am absolutely positively clear that this vision cannot be a reality if we don’t have the men and women who are part of the city of Philadelphia munic- ipal workforce leading in the way that they are provid- ing services that are much needed in our city, but also are employed to have the respect and the dignity that they deserve in their own respective lives. With that being said, I want to be very clear in affirming that today, Labor falls under the portfolio of Chief Deputy Mayor Sincere Harris, who left the Biden-Harris White House to come to work with me, formerly of Governor Tom Wolfe’s Administration, that she was this Admin- istrations Lead Manager in these negation efforts.”
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