Nutter gets booed at Labor Day parade
Monday, September 6th, 2010
By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org
Philadelphia's Mayor got a rousing Bronx Cheer as he spoke to the union crowd at the city's Labor Day Parade. With three of the four city unions without a contract, some of the rank and file aren't happy with the mayor.
Mayor Nutter shaking hands before speaking to Labor Day crowd
Mayor Nutter wasn't surprised when he was booed by the crowd of union marchers on Columbus Boulevard. He says it's all part of the job.
"My response is I don't like some of the things that the mayor has done I don't like having to do some of the things that we've had to do we don't have the financial resources, we don't have the money that we are used to so I understand it, I've been out in the crowd, the folks have been nice. I hear what folks are saying but also understand that they understand what's really going on economically so it's OK"
AFL-CIO head Pat Eiding praised the mayor for showing up even though he wasn't going to be a popular speaker. The city's blue and white collar unions have been without a contract for over a year. The firefighters are waiting for an arbitrator to make a decision.