Philly union workers block traffic around City Hall after authorizing strike

Members of the local union District Council 33, a part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), began demonstrating outside City Hall in Philadelphia after they authorized a strike Wednesday afternoon.

SkyForce10 was over the scheme and a sea of men and women in matching green shirts could be seen spilling out onto the street.

This is the largest union representing public service workers in Philadelphia. It has thousands of members, including city employees from departments including water, housing, police radio and sanitation.

All of these workers now on the verge of going on strike.

"We have people that work full time jobs and work overtime and are still able to receive public assistance because the wages that they earn are not enough," president of District 33, Greg Boulware, said.

This demonstration followed a “special general members meeting” that the union held at 5 p.m. inside of City Hall.

The meeting was held to discuss contract updates and whether they would authorize a strike.

This comes after the District 33 contract with the city of Philadelphia ended on June 30, 2024.

In July Boulware met with Mayor Cherelle Parker where she offered them a one-year contract extension, which he took back to the union’s executive board.

The union board thought a four-year deal would be more beneficial to its members that would add substantial raises, pension changes and employee protections. This proposal was submitted to the city in mid-August.

On Oct. 17, the union met with the City Council and said the city presented a “disrespectful” proposal that was the same generic one they offered to other municipal unions.

"They came back with nothing. They came back with disrespect. They came back with no dignity. They came back with no understanding of what our people go through every day," Boulware said. "We will be going back to our union hall to have an official strike vote in about a week. And then we will put the city on notice that is our intention to go on strike should they not come back with an offer that respectable enough for our members to consider acceptable."

The union has asked the city to present a different proposal by early next week.

"It's not our place to discuss the union's tactics or strategies. We remain confident in what we’ve negotiated throughout this year with every other union representing our municipal workers, and we believe we will be able to find an amicable resolution with District Council 33’s leadership and membership as well," Joe Grace, a spokesperson from the Parker administration said.