Philadelphia strike ends, but what's inside DC 33's tentative deal with the city?
After eight days of trash piling up on city streets and hours of negotiations, the strike involving Philadelphia's largest municipal workers' union is over.
Members of AFSCME District Council 33 and the city reached a tentative new contract agreement early Wednesday morning after the two sides restarted negotiations on Tuesday afternoon.
The union represents 9,000 workers in multiple city departments, including sanitation workers, police dispatchers, maintenance workers at Philadelphia International Airport and more.
Here's what we know about the tentative deal so far.
What to know about Philadelphia, DC 33 deal that ended strike
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said the tentative deal includes 3% raises each year for the next three years. It also adds a fifth step in the salary scale of 2% that will benefit union members with long enough records of service.
Parker said the salary increase will take effect now, and that half of DC 33's membership will qualify for it. By the end of the deal, 80% of the union's members will be eligible for the fifth-step increase.
The deal also comes with a $1,500 bonus in the first year. The city says the deal on the table will cost $115 million. Parker said union members will have been given a total of 14% in pay increases over her first term, more than any other mayor.
The Parker administration called the deal "fair and fiscally responsible."
"I want you to know, Philadelphia — this is a new, permanent salary increase that every member of District Council 33 will be able to benefit from," Parker said.
DC 33 received a 5% increase in Parker's first year as mayor on a one-year contract extension with the city to prevent a strike in 2024.
With Boulware serving only as a tiebreaker, the union's executive board voted 21-5 in favor of taking the deal,
Union says city demanded changes to sick policy and work rules in negotiations
Boulware's letter said in negotiations, the administration "attempt[ed] to impose overreaching changes" to work rules and benefits, and that the union rejected those changes.
The proposed changes included giving the city the ability to alter a worker's schedule up to four times a year, putting some water department workers on 12-hour shifts, giving preference for overtime to workers deemed high performers (as opposed to by seniority) and several other changes.
The letter also detailed gains made including the removal of expiration dates for emergency comp time, removing restrictions on family sick leave days used to care for sick or disabled dependents and increasing the per-employee contribution to the Legal Services Fund.
Tentative deal falls short of what DC 33 asked in negotiations
DC 33 was initially asking for 8% pay increases each year of a four-year deal, a 32% total increase, when the union went on strike on July 1. At the time, Parker and the city were offering 7% over three years, averaging out to 2.33% a year.
As negotiations developed over the strike, DC 33 then sought a 15% wage increase over the next three years, meaning a 5% raise each year. But the tentative deal has that number at a total of 9% over three years.
Boulware didn't mince words Wednesday morning after the strike ended, saying there was a deal "unfortunately."
"The city of Philadelphia has to do better by its members, has to put the members and the workers and all the essential functions as a priority of the city," Boulware said. "I don't feel like that's been done. We ultimately did what we thought was in the best interest of our members."
