Philadelphia’s largest municipal workers’ union has voted to strike if they don’t secure a new multi-year labor contract with the mayor.

Thousands of workers, members of AFSCME District Council 33, have agreed to walk off the job if union leaders demand it. DC33 President Greg Boulware said the union would not strike immediately, but might do so if it cannot reach an agreement with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office.

“We hope this does not happen and that we can come to an amicable resolution that works for both parties.” Right now, we’re not there,” Boulware said. “We will give the city every chance to see reason and recognize the plight of our members. »

The more than 9,000 city workers represented by DC33 include 911 operators, sanitation workers and library workers, among many other city workers. The departments of sanitation, water and prisons have the largest number of DC33 members.

“This city works because we make it work,” DC33 member Jeff Bemiss said at an October rally where members expressed support for a strike. Bemiss, a water department employee, has worked for the city for nearly 18 years.

“We’re just tired of not getting the credit we deserve. We are tired of not being paid what we deserve. We deserve a fair contract so we can feed our families,” Bemiss said.

For city residents, a strike could mean a halt to waste collection and a delay in the intervention of police, firefighters and ambulances, according to a union spokesperson.

Workers voted in person between November 7 and 13, and the vote count results were tallied on Thursday. Approximately 3,400 members participated, 87% of whom voted in favor of the strike.

He was asked if there had been any other negotiations or offers from the city since the union and the town hall met officially in OctoberBoulware noted: “There have been conversations so far, nothing really tangible to consider. »

“The Parker administration continues to work around the clock to achieve a successful resolution of this very important issue,” city spokesman Joe Grace said in an email Thursday.

SEPTA workers represented by Transportation Workers Union Local 234 have also authorized a strike as they negotiate a new contract and could call a work stoppage at any time. Boulware acknowledged that TWU had also threatened strike action and said DC33 was in regular contact with TWU.

“We could work very well collaboratively,” he said.

Representatives for TWU Local 234 had no immediate comment.

The workers’ last three-year contract, which was negotiated with former Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, expired at the end of June.

DC33 is seeking wage increases, a relaxation of a rule that requires most city workers to live in Philadelphia, and improvements to their pension plans. The Parker administration offered a one-year contract this roughly extends the terms of the previous contract and includes a 4.4% raise, as well as a one-time bonus of $1,400.

Unions representing municipal workers such as police officers, firefighters, and professional and supervisory staff have already agreed to short-term contracts under Parker’s administration.

The mayor’s office said it favors short-term contracts because the new administration gets its “feet on the ground” and because the mayor wants to safeguard the city’s finances.

Boulware said the mayor’s proposal to DC33 was the same one proposed to District Council 47 a few months before.

“The city had our proposal for about two and a half months, and they came back with pretty much nothing,” Boulware said in an Oct. 30 interview. “This shows that the city is disconnected from our needs. This union’s average salary is significantly higher than ours, and so the same increase doesn’t work the same way.

DC33 members earn an average annual salary of between $40,000 and $45,000, according to the union.

Rally workers for a better contract

DC33 has been talking about a potential strike for weeks.

During an extraordinary general meeting of members in front of city hall on October 30, several workers chanted “we will strike!” Hundreds of people showed up to the rally and informally voted in favor of the strike by show of hands.

A few held signs with an image of Mayor Parker that read “Give us our money!” and “Pay us like you paid your practice.”

A day after the rally at City Hall, Councilwoman Nina Ahmad and other public officials signed a letter to Parker expressing concerns about how the negotiations were going. Their letter says the proposed 4.4% increase is “insufficient at best.”

“We believe the current approach and progress in these negotiations does not reflect the commitment these Philadelphia workers deserve,” reads the letter Ahmad posted to X.

Boulware was elected to his position in Juneousting interim leader Omar Salaam, in a controversial election. Salaam had assumed this role for a few months following the departure of former DC33 president Ernest Garrett. dismissed from office earlier this year.

At the October rally, Boulware acknowledged that he had taken on the role of president at a key time for the union.

“I signed up to be a leader in this area,” Boulware said. “I know I had to be the one to stand up for our members (and make sure) that the city understands that they have to take care of us while we take care of everyone else.”