For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 27, 2000
Thousands March in Support of City Workers and Health Care Employees
PHILADELPHIA, PA. —Thousands of city workers, health care employees and delegates to the convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) marched to City Hall today, demanding fair contracts for Philadelphia workers by the contract deadline of midnight, June 30.
"We are here today to send a message to Mayor Street and his administration. And to the hospital and health care administrators who are holding our contracts hostage," AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee said to the crowd. "We know what’s fair. The people of Philadelphia know what’s fair.
"Fair is finally getting your due when you’ve made sacrifices for others time after time. Fair is having your turn when the city, because of your sacrifices, ends up in good shape. Fair is keeping the benefits you have because you have worked damn hard for them."
McEntee accused the city of brinkmanship in failing to negotiate in good faith prior to the contract deadline. The city’s first proposal, for instance, came just last week in a bargaining session with Council 33. It called for an average wage increase of less than one percent per year over a four-year contract term.
Strikes have been authorized by all of the bargaining units, threatening service disruptions for city residents and for the Republican National Convention, which will be held here in July.
The contract disputes involve almost 25,000 workers in the city. Two unions, AFSCME District Councils 33 and 47, represent nearly 19,000 city employees. Another 6,000 are health care workers represented by the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (NUHHCE), AFSCME Local 1199C. The health care workers are employed by Tenet Health Care Systems, which operate Hahnemann and the Medical College of Pennsylvania hospitals, Children’s Hospital, and Genesis, a nursing home operator, as well as other area nursing home operators.
Other speakers at the rally included Council 33 President Pete Matthews, Council 47 President Tom Cronin, NUHHCE/AFSCME Local 1199C President Henry Nicholas, President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO William George, and George Casey and Richard Costello, presidents of the city firefighters and police unions respectively.
