Mayor Cherelle Parker takes to social media to deliver union contract update

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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker took to social media Saturday to plead the city’s case in its negotiation dispute with the District Council 33 union, which represents 9,000 city employees ranging from sanitation workers to school crossing guards.

In a video running over five minutes, Parker used a comparison to her predecessors to show that the city’s current offer is fair. She also spoke about arriving at a deal that is “fair and fiscally responsible.”

“I am an unapologetically pro-union, pro-worker and pro-labor mayor,” Parker said. “I will also keep my oath to the people of this city to govern with fiscal responsibility as my foundation. And now more than ever, given the uncertainty that we face, it’s even more important. I wholeheartedly believe that we can and will reach a fair and fiscally responsible contract within our city’s fiscal constraints. And I am confident that we will do so.”

Parker did not provide specifics of the deal but referred to last year’s 5% pay increase for the union members in a one-year contract extension. She said combined with the current offer, wage increases for the District Council 33 members in her first term would amount to 12%.

Union officials told WHYY News earlier this week that the current wage increase would break down to just over 2% per year over three years, instead of the four-year 8% per year the union was seeking along with other concessions from the city.

District Council 33 put up a post on social media early Saturday morning saying “No Deal.”

Union officials said they are moving forward with a rally on Monday.

“Expect to be on strike by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning,” the post reads.

The union has not walked off the job since the 1980s, when three- and four-story-high piles of trash were seen on makeshift dump sites put together by the city to get the smelly garbage off neighborhood streets.

If the walkout occurs as scheduled, it would be right in the midst of the Welcome America celebration, including a July 4 concert and fireworks, that creates tons of trash on the Ben Franklin Parkway with no sanitation workers to clean up after the event.