Thousands of city workers in Philadelphia are back to work full-time after a judge turned down a union’s request to stop Mayor Cherelle Parker from making them come back.
Employees from District Council 47 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees sued the city, saying the rule broke their contract and would hurt city workers. The union, which speaks for 6,000 clerical and supervisory workers, has also complained to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board about unfair labor practices, but the board has not yet ruled on the case.
The case was heard last week for two days. On Friday night, the judge said that the city could enforce the rule, so the workers had to go back to work on Monday.
Parker announced the mandate in May, saying that she wanted to make the government more open and obvious. The decision stopped the city’s policy on virtual work, which was put in place in 2021. This means that employee schedules are back to how they were before the coronavirus pandemic.
Parker said that until last year, about 80% of the city’s 26,000 workers worked full-time on-site. The other 20% worked on-site 31 to 75 hours per pay period. Department heads were in charge of making decisions about joint work when Jim Kenney was mayor.
When the decision was made public, the union strongly opposed it, saying that it was made without going through joint bargaining. It also thinks that the policy will make the city’s job shortage, which has been going on since the pandemic, worse.
It also says that the city doesn’t have enough office space for everyone to come back and that making the change in the summer, when kids aren’t in school, makes it harder for parents to plan their days.
A Democrat named Parker has said that her government doesn’t think the new policy can be changed through joint bargaining. Changes were also made to make things better for workers. For example, paid family leave was increased from six weeks to eight weeks, and the Friday after Thanksgiving was made a holiday. It has also been said that sick leave to care for family members will have fewer limits.
Business leaders are happy about the news and say it will help workers and make downtown Philadelphia more lively.
