City unions turn out for budget address, but access is restricted

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City unions turn out for budget address, but access is restricted

POSTED: Thursday, March 14, 2013, 9:56 AM

By 9 a.m., a few hundred city union workers were lining up to get into City Hall for Mayor Nutter's annual budget address, which they're once again protesting. But many were turned away. Officers were outside Council chambers with a list of names marked for entry (and members of the press who weren't on the list and didn't have official press passes were chastised but eventually admitted).

Outside, an AFSCME DC 33 member holding a broom that said "Pay Raise" on the end, a sign saying, "It's time for a fair contract," and a flag on a wooden pole said he'd been denied entry because his signs could be used as weapons. He was urging union members to gain access with their city IDs.

The union is making hay of this security decision, sending out an email that begins:

Nutter has a new tactic not seen in Philadelphia since King George banned the right to assemble – Nutter is restricting access to today’s Budget Address. There’s now a “Friends of Nutter” list of those deigned loyal enough to enter a public building for a public hearing.

Inside City Council chambers, union members packed the galleries holding signs that say "Mayor Bozo" and "How about collecting the money we owe?" and chanting: "What do we want? Contracts! When do we want them? Now."

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