Pennsylvania – Workers in Philly Demand Fairness from Mayor Nutter

More than 3,000 rallied in Philadelphia this winter to protest Mayor Michael Nutter’s attacks on working families. (Photo by George Jackson)

Public employees in Philadelphia, and members of AFSCME District Councils 33 and 47, have called on Mayor Michael Nutter to respect workers’ rights and think about working families, not corporate profits.

Despite four years without a pay increase, city workers pulled together to find real solutions to their city’s budget problems. In the meantime, Nutter went out of his way to cut taxes for the wealthy while asking for more sacrifices from public employees.

Nutter offered city employees a 2.5-percent increase while trying to take thousands from their pockets with threatened cuts in overtime pay and forced furloughs. He cut public services and shut down schools and libraries, while standing with corporations and the city’s powerful institutions.

AFSCME District Council 33 Pres. Pete Matthews and District Council 47 Pres. Cathy Scott called out Nutter’s disingenuous plan, pointing out that it’s not a raise when you take away more than you give.

Earlier this year, AFSCME sisters and brothers —along with members of other labor unions, community groups and organizations — came out by the thousands in solidarity. At rallies in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, they made it clear they will continue to stand with the city’s labor force until Nutter’s policies begin to build a better Philadelphia for all.

At the Philadelphia rally, Matthews and Scott were joined by AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders, who told a crowd of 3,000 during the weekend commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., what he thinks of the Mayor of the 1 Percent.

“Mayor Nutter considers himself a man of the people – but in reality, he’s a man of only certain people: the top 1 percent,” Saunders said. “He advocates for the wealthy, not the workers. He supports the corporations, not the cops. He champions the people with a lot, not the folks with too little.”