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The Mayor
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An occasional, inconsistent, and improbable series on this year's budget.
The Coalition for Essential Services a coalition of labor, service, and community groups dedicated to getting a "fair budget" passed by Council meaning, in their case, preserving city services and jobs rallied outside City Hall this morning to get Council's attention focused on what they consider the fairest way to balance the city's budget: raising (or "rolling back" to mid-nineties levels) the "gross receipts" portion of the business privilege tax.
This comes as Mayor Nutter's proposed trash fee appears all but dead, and the sugary beverages tax isn't doing much better. Councilman Frank DiCicco has withdrawn his own alternative, a proposed 12% property tax hike, and Councilman Wilson Goode has introduced a two-year 9% property tax hike instead, apparently backed by democratic Council leadership, to balance the budget.
But Council is just starting to hold its neighborhood community budget hearings, and they're already being told exactly what they were told last year: "don't raise our property taxes."
Is it just me, or is it strange that we spend about half a year waiting for Council to make up its mind on given budget?
Anyway: back to the gross-receipts thing.
The idea is this: the gross receipts tax is a tax on net sales rather than revenue/income.
Because large companies can easily hide or move their income, the reasoning goes, the gross receipts tax is the only way to tax the operations of major, national retailers in the area.
One of the strongest arguments against raising this tax is that, because it taxes sales regardless of income, it can tax a business that isn't turning a profit. To answer this challenge, the Coalition is proposing that all businesses with receipts under $500,000 be exempted.
It's an interesting idea, and the exemption is clever - I don't think anyone wants to hurt small businesses right now, but getting a better cut from Coca Cola, etc. it could gain steam.
Council members Bill Green and Maria Quinones-Sanchez have so far been the most interested in potentially revising the gross receipts tax.
Anybody out there want to weigh in on this one? Got a better idea to balance the budget? (And if you're going to say, "cut city jobs," that's fine, but no getting off easy: which department anyone want to take up the line-item challenge?).
Thanks Isaiah! 40% of big businesses taxed by the GRT (over $500,000 in Receipts and therefore not exempted under our plan) aren't even based in Philadelphia. They rely on our city services to create markets and access for their products. They aren't going to stop selling their products in our city, and they don't provide any jobs for Philadelphia, so taxing them is win-win for us. Zachary H Coalition for Essential Services PhillyCES.org
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by philly news now. philly news now said: Budget fuss: Coalition urges use of gross receipts tax to balance budget: An occasional, inconsistent, and impr... http://bit.ly/cW0tkT [...]
How about thinking outside the box and limiting the proposed "gross receipts" tax to one full business week of the year.
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A new and likely-doomed blog series, in which I fuss about the city budget. Oh yeah.
"The Government," Mayor Nutter told me, very firmly, "is not growing."
Period. That's it. Read. My. Lips.
Well, he didn't say that, but he kind of implied it. I stammered a bit and waved a piece of paper entitled "City Manager's Quarterly Report" at him, but the mayor wouldn't budge. "The government is not growing," he said, and patted me good-naturedly on the back, as if to say, "But nice try."
It's a claim he's made several times, most notably in a recent letter to the Inquirer:
Several opinion pieces may lead readers to believe the city has relied only on revenue measures to solve the multibillion-dollar deficits it has faced since the world economic collapse. That is false. Excluding pensions and debt service, the city's costs this year will be about $160 million lower than in fiscal 2008. A big part of that reduction has been in personnel costs. Since December 2008, the city's general-fund workforce has shrunk by about 800, and when part-time and temporary positions are added, there are 1,250 fewer employees now than at the end of 2008. And for the first half of this fiscal year, overtime was down by a third from where it was last year.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the government, this man is saying, is not growing.
But this handy chart I made says differently:
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| By Isaiah Thompson, Data: City of Philadelphia |
Here's what the chart tells us:
- While it's true that Nutter cut jobs way down from December 2008, that date represented a high-water mark; in other words, Nutter, at the time, was already presiding over the highest level of staffing in four years.
- Starting this year, we can expect to see the city's staff levels go back up, eventually back to where they were in 2005 which was a full three years before the great financial collapse.
- Between 2008 and 2009, the mayor did eliminate actual positions but he also eliminated plenty of vacant positions.
- The number of actual positions, while shrinking, has stayed in more or less the same relative in proportion to the number of budgeted positions.
Look: I'm not some small-government nut. Putting on my columnist's hat for a minute, I don't really care all that much if we do or don't add 100 jobs. It's a small part of the overall budget, and a relatively small part of the overall tax burden. But in a budget proposal which makes virtually no cuts on the one hand, and raises taxes on the other, it's worth asking whether the administration is making its sacrifices this year, too.
Nutter's response, when I first tried to run these numbers by him, was "Talk to Dubow" referring to Rob Dubow, Director of Finance.
Dubow, initially, told me that the city is not adding staff. Until he admitted that, well, yes, it is adding a few positions but not that many, and, he said, the city expects some of these staff investments (e.g technologyth) to result in "efficiencies," which they have not yet budgeted for.
Which is all well and good, but not not quite what the mayor said, when he said, "The Government is not growing."
I cannot believe the mayor did not take your little chart as gospel and cancel his entire schedule to review it with you. What was he thinking?
I think I'm starting to look like the better choice in that election every day....
[...] And I'll say this: As a reporter, I've found the mayor himself and his staff, particularly the mayor's press office, with which I interact fairly often, to be remarkably accessible and down-to-earth even when my writing is, as is often the case, critical. [...]
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
At the end of last year, City Paper's Andrew Thompson did a piece on Brett Mandel, the former director of Philadelphia Forward who seemingly checked out of city politics after being disillusioned with Mayor Nutter:
"[Nutter] didn't promise that we would tread water. He promised a renaissance," Mandel says.
And when the campaign was over, he threw up his hands and walked away. "For the last two decades, I've been screaming and yelling about Philadelphia, inside city government, outside city government," he says. "That can be frustrating. Dealing with the political structure is a pain."
We thought he might be back, though. (In fact, the piece mentioned that he had become a committee person for the city's Eighth Ward but just as a hobby.) Recently, he's been circulating critiques of Nutter's budget, which you can read here. Also, he's speaking at Penn's Houston Hall (Room 281) on April 22 at 6 p.m., about such problems he has with the budget. Additionally, he's pushing for a "thorough purge" of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and asking that reform-minded folk attend new candidates' fundraisers with him.
Can we call it a comeback?
Brett will be speaking to the members of the Loyal Opposition on April 22nd as Holly mentioned. Please join us to hear the significant and alarming insights Brett has on the Philadelphia budget crises.
Well, it's time again to identify the inspiring, intimidating, and just plain mystifying depictions of His Honor, Philadelphia's own Mayor Michael Nutter.
The front page of phila.gov almost always features a picture of Nutter but every now and then, that picture is updated. And with each time, with each pic, we get a chance to remark on it.
Before I weigh in on the current picture (above), some history is in order.
This little game began in 2008, when phila.gov featured the following picture, so ambiguous that it demanded public scrutiny:
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| 2008: We're-in-trouble Nutter |
I thought, at the time, that Nutter looked "frightened and defensive" and it was posted, after all, in the thick of the city's budget collapsing. Doron Taussig, my former editor, called it "perplexed and slightly angry."
Then came 2009, with a decidedly more cheerful-looking Nutter:
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| 2009: Confident Nutter |
Last year, I called it "decidedly more confident if less interesting."
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| 2010: Captain Nutter |
This year's most recent picture (above) takes us back into ambiguous territory: Nutter looks earnest, even concerned a throwback, methinks, to 2008. Yet rather than reacting to something, as he appears to be in Nutter '08, Nutter '10 seems to be demanding our own reaction.
Maybe it's the Philadelphia flag waving in the background. Maybe it's the podium, which resembles the helm of a great ship. Or maybe it's the right hand, lifted in action about to crash down with an angry slam or gently point us in the right direction, we don't know. Regardless, I call this depiction Captain Nutter: Eying the storm, while grabbing the wheel.
But the most important question is: What do you think?
I see it as more of a "What part of 'No More Money' do you not understand?" Mayor Nutter.
Haha, I think you hit it on the head, Doron. Maybe this is Slightly-Impatient-Yet-Not-Un-Paternal Nutter?
Hmm. I see this differently. I think the Mayor looks exasperated. He looks like he could be saying, "As I've explained several times now..."
REPORTING GOVT. CORRUPTION - (Click on link below) http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=497&letter_id=5027836306 I advised Mayor Nutter personally on 11/16/2009 but have not heard back from him?
This morning the Pew Charitable Trust released its second annual megasurvey of Philadelphians. You can read the DN's account of it here, or just download the survey for yourself here. The top lines, of course, are the headline-grabbers:
Nutter's approve/disapprove is at 53/32, up from 47/39 last April. 60 percent say they have a very or somewhat favorable impression of him, which, all in all, is a pretty good place for an incumbent mayor who just weathered the Great Recession and skyrocketing unemployment to be in. At the very least, it should be enough to give second thoughts to any potential challengers. (Pew didn't do a partisan breakdown, however; if he does get a viable challenge in 2011, it will almost certainly be from a Democrat in the May primary; his weakness — as the Pew people tell me it's always been — is among African-Americans and the less educated, two demographic groups that are well represented among Dems. Also, it's worth noting that, because Pew does not consider this a political poll, this poll questions Philadelphians at large, rather than registered or likely voters.)
City Council scores pretty well, too: A 42/34 approve/disapprove, again up a bit from last year. Police Commissioner Ramsey may well be the most popular guy in the city. He banks a 69/11 spread — apparently, he's getting the credit for the declining murder rate. Nobody knows much about school superintendent Arlene Ackerman: her approve/disapprove/don't know is 29/20/51. I'm surprised that her handling of the racially charged South Philly High School incidents, in which black kids were beating up Asian kids, hasn't hurt her more, considering how unknown of a quantity she is.
Much to my colleague Isaiah Thompson's dismay, I'm sure, casinos and table games both score well. 51 percent approve of casinos, to 34 percent opposed; 54 percent approve of table games, to 32 percent opposed (you read that right: more people support table games than casinos). So, backroom deals and all, it looks like most people are resigned to, if not excited by, the casinos' presence. I'm on a conference call with the Pew people now, and a DN guy just asked about this: "What's been going down is the number of people who disapprove," one of the Pew reps responded. In other words, the approval numbers have stayed steady, but the opposition has softened.
Oh, and the Streets Department sucks: While respondents seemed OK with library service (58 percent gave the library high marks) and the cops (52/45 in favor), the question of "street repair and maintenance" elicited a bit of ire: Only 28 percent rated Streets' services as "excellent or good," to 72 percent who think they are fair or poor. This degree of unhappiness is matched only on the question of whether the city has enough programs for teens: By a 28/54 margin, the respondents said no.
The cross-tabs yield some interesting results, too. At first blush, the fact that Nutter, who is black, does better among the city's whites than among blacks would seem counter-intuitive: Among whites, he gets a 65/21 approval; among blacks, however, he breaks even, 43/43. That said, Nutter has improved his position among blacks considerably since Pew's last survey, in April 2009 at the height of the city's budget war. Then, only 36 percent of blacks approved of his job performance, versus 54 percent who didn't.
Since Day One, Nutter's strength la largely with well-educated whites, and that's where he performs best now. He gets 62 percent support of those with a college degree, as well as 62 percent support from those making more than $100,000. Curiously, Nutter gets his best marks (59 percent) from the northeast, as well as those over 65 years old (65 percent). That said, except for the black cohort, he gets positive approval ratings across all income, demographic and regional groups.
People like Nutter. His economic policies, not quite so much. Overall, only 47 percent express confidence in his ability to handle the budget, to 46 percent who aren't confident. There's a 47/49 disapproval of his sales tax increase, which, statistically, is a tie. Here again, whites, better educated and wealthier people tend to favor the tax hike; blacks and Hispanics, those with less education and poorer people disapprove, which isn't terribly surprising, given that sales taxes are the most regressive taxes imaginable. At the same time, however, blacks tend to favor a more tax-and-spend approach to city governance, by a 45/39 margin. Whites (39/43) and Hispanics (32/49) lean toward lower taxes and service cuts.
So what does it all mean? With a broad brush, I'd say Nutter weathered the storm. His base among educated whites has held, and his standing among blacks is getting better. To be honest, any tax hike that breaks-even in these polls is a rare thing; people always hate tax hikes, even when they want more services. And given the economic shitstorm of the last year, the fact that he's close to even on any budget-related matters has to be a win. If Nutter survives the next round of budget wars, and the pending union negotiations, politically intact, I'd say he's a pretty solid bet for reelection. The caveat is how differently the people who will show up to vote next May will see things from those who answered their phone for Pew.
Pew says another batch of survey data is coming out later this month, on crime and the general mood of the city. We'll update then.
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Interesting survey. Thanks for spotlighting it. Pew's own write-up makes the rather bizarre assertion that "In 2009, the key budget decision made by Mayor Nutter and City Council (in concert with the state legislature and the governor) was to raise the sales tax in Philadelphia." Funny, I thought the key budget decision was to pass a city budget (sales tax hike included) that depended on agreements from Harrisburg that were not in place, and then to swan off on summer recess without a Plan B. For months last summer and fall, both the state and the city failed to negotiate seriously to resolve either budget crisis. In the meantime, small businesses failed, services to poor and middle-class families were cut or disappeared, and nonprofits teetered on the edge of financial destruction. When an independently funded organization takes it upon itself to assess city officials' performance, it would be nice if that assessment didn't set the bar so low.
[...] a few weeks back when I broke down the Pew Charitable Trust's poll? Well, part 2 is out today, and it "shows that Philadelphians are optimistic about the city's [...]
I'll make it quick. I've got an interview with the mayor, and I thought — in the interest of democracy, open-source journalism, and the general welfare of the Good and True People of Philadelphia — that I'd open it up to you readers.
What would you ask the mayor? If possible, try to keep it less-angry-screed-like and more genuine-question-that-you-want-answered-like.
No promises, of course, but put 'em below in the comments and I'll see if I can't work some of them into the interview.
What are his specific plans (if any) to assist small business owners in Philadelphia?
What campaign promise does the Mayor think he's struggled the most at accomplishing? -cgw
Why doesn't Mayor Nutter see the correlation between keeping libraries and pools open with keeping kids from hanging out on the streets and away from violence? Is there a plan to keep the kids on the right path and not just hanging out?
I want to know if Mayor Nutter knows that the answers to Philly's problems are jobs, jobs, and jobs and not city government ones. What is doing inspite of the budget woes to eliminate onerous taxes and redtape that face businesses in Philly?
As part of President Obama's campaign, the President pledged to create pilot "Promise Neighborhoods" based on the Harlem Children's Zone. Will Philadelphia be applying for one of these grants? If so, how will you, Mayor Nutter, ensure that the grant application is better-coordinated than past efforts?
Why are there so many visibly crazy people living on the streets of Philadelphia? What is the disconnect between social services and the mentally ill?
I would like to know why the Kioahs machines.. not sure of the spelling. the machines where you get the parking tickets don't work. I have gone to three different machines on Broad St and they will not take my credit or debit cards, you can't get change for a 5 when you are parking for three hours that costs 4.50. What's up with the machines? thanks, Ruth
The Dad Vail regatta, previously slotted to row across the river to Jersey next year, is back having never actually gone anywhere.
Whew!
Press release follows:
Thursday, December 17, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAYOR NUTTER, CONGRESSMAN BRADY: DAD VAIL 2010 WILL BE IN PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia, December 17 â Mayor Michael A. Nutter, Congressman Robert A. Brady, and organizers of the Dad Vail Regatta announced today that the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta will be held in Philadelphia. The announcement was made following a meeting in the Mayorâs Office between Mayor Nutter, Congressman Brady, City officials, and the event organizers.
"Dad Vail 2010 will be in Philadelphia, where it belongs,â said Mayor Nutter. "We never stopped working to bring the Dad Vail back and todayâs announcement is a victory for the young men and women who participate in this event, for the many thousands who enjoy the spectacle, and for all Philadelphians. I want to thank Congressman Brady, Jim Hanna and the Dad Vail organizers, and Herb Lotman who were all instrumental in this process.â
"The Dad Vail Regatta is a Philadelphia tradition and I wanted to continue to work with the Mayor and the DVR board to make sure that this major sporting event stayed in Philadelphia. The effort to keep the regatta in our city was important because it offers our young people the opportunity to compete in the largest collegiate regattas in the country. So it was very important that we continued to talk and work together to ensure that it stayed right here where it belongs,â Congressman Brady said.
City officials announced that the City of Philadelphia and the Dad Vail organizers will seek to reach a multi-year agreement in order to continue to stage the Regatta in Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter and Congressman Brady committed to assist the organizers with identifying potential sponsors. The City of Philadelphia will continue to work with the organizers to identify potential savings and ways to keep costs low, as it does with every potential event host in the city. However Mr. Hanna emphasized that City costs were never a significant factor in these discussions.
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| Councilman Frank Rizzo |
Today, at-large Councilman Frank Rizzo introduced a resolution calling for the city to restore mechanical leaf collection, a service which Mayor Nutter cut last November, during the fiscal budget crisis.
The resolution was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Anna Verna, Jannie Blackwell, Curtis Jones, Joan Krajewski, Donna Reed Miller, Marian Tasco and Brian OâNeill.
It passed 14-2, with Councilmembers DiCicco and Green dissenting and Councilman Greenlee absent. (*corrected from an earlier draft, which gave the vote incorrectly as 15-2).
The Mayor's office has said that it opposes re-instituting the service, choosing to spend the money elsewhere: "We're asking citizens to work with us on this issue so we can meet our spending priorities such as police, fire, and libraries," said spokeswoman Maura Kennedy yesterday.
Rizzo, however, saw it a different way:
"There are certain things that the city has an obligation to do," he told the Inquirer.
"There are certain things you canât put a price tag on," he told the Daily News.
Actually, putting a price tag on the service is pretty easy: it cost the city $400,000 annually.
And, it turns out, only about 10% of the city was ever getting the service. And, it turns out, that 10% includes the richest neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
Streets Department maps obtained by the CP show that only tiny pockets of the city were receiving mechanical leaf collection services in the first place.
I apologize for the poor image quality, and we're working on getting better maps. A Streets spokesperson confirmed that the different shadings (solid vs. striped) simply refer to different scheduled weeks of collection.
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| Shaded portions (only) received mechanical leaf collection in 2008 |
Among the pockets of Philly that did get the service, Chestnut Hill and West Mt. Airy seem to dominate in the northwest. Elsewhere: Somerton, Bustleton, and a few other pockets of the northeast; the small gentrified triangle of West Philly that extends west from the University bounded by Chestnut, Baltimore, and 52nd Street; and the swath of Overbrook that hugs City Ave; and a teeny, tiny little pocket of South Philly.
The rest of West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, the River Districts, and South Philadelphia -- had to rake their leaves themselves.
Asked why these areas - and not others - received service, Streets spokeswoman June Canton pointed out that they have more leaves. And we don't doubt she's right: but they're also wealthier â a lot wealthier, in some cases â than the rest of the city.
There may be "certain things the city has an obligation to do," as Councilman Rizzo put it: but is this really one of them?
If I bagged all the leaves that my trees produce (and those my neighbor's trees send our way), it would be hard to estimate how many bags that would be. Hundreds, I expect. I generally dispose of two long (densely packed) piles, about 60 feet long, each year. Not having mechanical collection would add more time and effort than I can imagine. It's already a daunting task! Thanks, council, for voting to restore this service.
Hello, and thanks for the comments. I just wanted to clarify, in light of the previous response: this article is relevant only to so-called "mechanical collection" of leaves -- not the disposal of leaves collected by residents. If you rake up your leaves, bag them, and leave them by the curb, the city will still pick them up. The resolution mentioned above has to do with a special service wherein the city actually collected the leaves itself. Hope that helps clarify the discussion.
Jb, it's not about raking, it's about disposal. I can rake 8 bags every weekend for 3 months if I want to where I live in the northeast. Should I put that out for standard garbage or recycling each week? Isn't it better if something specific can come around, collect the leaves from a raked pile in front of each house vaccuum style and put them to a better purpose, like compost for other city projects as opposed to just adding size to the landfills in bags.
Typical city council bullshit. Raking leaves isn't that hard you rich assholes!
Wealthier people are more likely to live on property with trees, so their disproportionate share of service is understandable. But backing up a step and wondering why the councilmen want to spend $400K on leaves in the first place, and in the middle of a budget crisis no less, needs an answer. Contact your city council rep: http://www.phillyvoter.org/locator/ElectedOfficials.aspx
Plant Evergreens. Conifers. No leaves, constant, year-round photosynthesis. Better for nature, better for suburbs.
I just wish that you all could see the amount of leaves that fall onto my property. I would need at least 100 bags for each raking during the fall; and we rake twice per season. I have paid over $1000 to have leaves raked and then most of the time we do it ourselves. It takes many days, not hours, days. Three hours may be fun, but 100 hours is not. It is now a job. Maybe all of us rich folk (as you say) should cut down all of the beautiful trees in and around our homes near Fairmount Park and Valley Green. We certainly pay enough in taxes that we should have leaf pick up. Philadelphia is among the few large cities where trash is picked up only once per week. My children can't attend the public schools. What are we getting for our money here? Yeah, the least they can do is pick up my leaves. This city continues to rape its citizens day after day. It is not 1960. Get with it Philadelphia. Politics kill the beautiful city!
It is apparent that the only citizens worthy of ANY city services, are the so called "POOR".....Who already have an infinite number of social programs available to them. Possibly, while I am at work all day long to pay for all their programs, maybe they could take care of my leaf problem!!! That way I would feel like I am getting "SOMETHING" for the thousands of dollars I pay in "TAXES"
Earlier today, "It's Our Money" reported that Willie Brown, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 â the guys on strike â had told reporters that Mayor Nutter was "cut off" from future negotiations:
Nutter "has brought nothingâ to the table, Brown said, adding, "I will not meet himâ because of the attacks the mayor has leveled at the union.
About half an hour ago, Office of the Mayor Press Secretary Doug Oliver emailed me the following statement, reprinted here in its entirety:
The Mayor was only involved because he was asked to participate in the discussions. To the extent that his participation is helpful, he's willing to participate. If his participation is problematic, he's willing to stay out of the discussions. It's always been the Mayor's position that his number one obligation is to the 1.5 million people who are trying to manage their way through this TWU strike.
There should be no reason why the negotiations can't move forward. But with a deal like the one that was offered (11% wage increases over five years and no increase in contributions to healthcare) during a time when so many people are taking pay decreases and even losing their jobs, one can't help but wonder why a deal wasn't struck already. Again, if the absence of the Mayor is the only thing needed to strike a deal, the Mayor is more than happy to allow the negotiations to continue without his involvement.
I hope someone destroys that greedy Willie Browns car so that fat bastard has to walk. I walked by frankford transportation center and told those jerks what I think and all they had to say was enjoy walking, Yeah maybe I can get Held at gun point by 5 black teenagers again. They also said enjoy the war like they are at war with me, what have I done but give them half my money. They only care about themselves.
Let them all rot. Hire out of work truck drivers. You union schmucks claim to understand. Understand this pal, I lose my job because of you people, I'll see you in hell. I hear there's an especially painful place in hell for traitors, and that's exactly what you are. You've betrayed your city, and you've betrayed your fellow working men and women. I'm Fred Rogers and I approve this message.
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Now, I'm still pretty new in town, so I might not have a perfect feel for how these things work up here. That said, I've been around enough union negotiations to begrudgingly admire the insane, ballsy, never-gonna-happen tack the Transit Workers Union Local 234 took yesterday, when it announced that maybe, just maybe, it would strike at the end of this week, which — hey wouldn't you know it? — just so happens to coincide with the World Series. Oh, the happenstance.
But to be clear, they don't WANT to strike during the World Series. No, that would be mean, and terribly impolitic during this city's moment in the national spotlight. Just, if SEPTA doesn't give them everything they possibly want, right now, they'll have no choice. And shucks, that would be so darn unfortunate.
"This is the last week we are going to work without a contract," said Willie Brown, local TWU president, whose more than 5,000 members have been working without a contract since March 15.Yet Brown's message to World Series fans was this: "We're going to do everything we can not to have a strike."
Everything, that is, except be reasonable. See, everywhere else on the planet, workers — especially government workers — have taken to the warm embrace of the words "wage freeze." Because "wage freeze" is slightly less-sucky than "massive layoffs" and "draconian pay cuts." Our friends in the TWU, however — some of whom might be considered slightly overpaid — are balking at two years of wage freeze, followed by a 2 percent raise the years after. And that's understandable, I suppose. I've spent the last few years in companies with "wage freezes" too, and it definitely is an undesirable situation. But their reasoning — that they got raises a few years back, when SEPTA was in even deeper in the hole — strikes me as a bit flawed. As in: If you rolled your car down a mountain and flipped it a bunch of times and totaled it a few years back, what's the harm in driving it into the ditch now?
Predictably, the union is refusing to up workers' healthcare contributions, and wants the city to increase its allocation to the union's pension plan. In a normal universe, where the city is cratering in fiscal crisis, these are the kinds of demands that get laughed out of the negotiating table. But this universe is not normal. This is the week of the Series, where thousands of crazy, drunk, poll-climbing, car-flipping freaks will crowd into South Philly to watch the Phils try to repeat. And then they'll want a ride home.
To the TWU, this is, of course, leverage, which is a polite word for extortion. The city hardly wants its moment in the sun sullied by having its major transit system effectively shut down. So the union figures this is their week to make a move. Can't argue with the strategy.
Of course, if the trains stop running this weekend — which is also Halloween, wouldn't you know — people are gonna be pissed. At SEPTA workers, not the city. And rightly so; I doubt SEPTA workers will find much sympathy in an era of 10 percent unemployment and budgets that already ooze red ink. So when the TWU says it doesn't want to strike, it doesn't. It just wants Nutter SEPTA to blink first. It's a schoolyard dare. The TWU wants to see how much backbone City Hall SEPTA officials have.
I'm curious to see what happens if the tables turn: If Nutter SEPTA turns them away, does TWU have the gumption to follow through, to strike during the Series?
EDIT & CORRECTION: As Gary from the comments pointed out, SEPTA is not a city agency and therefore TWU does not negotiate with Nutter and co. You learn something every day.
If the workers want more money to deal with 8+ hours a day of ungrateful jerks, exhaust fumes, stress, and traffic, they should get it. I have a feeling that most people against this strike have cushy office jobs (like myself) and never have to experience 40+ hours a week of actual labor. Anti-union sentiment is anti-worker. If the company had their way they'd pay drivers minimum wage and give no benefits. I can understand the difficulty for someone who relies on transit to get to work, but we're all workers and we should all stick together against the REAL enemy, the CEOs who make millions then point fingers and blue collar workers and call them "greedy" for wanting a salary that can support a family.
Septa bus drivers already make more money than the average airline pilot. Think about that next time you board a plane.
I'm pro-labor, much like Stan Shapiro above - but only pro-labor in the name of responsible organizing. This is not responsible. While there are transgressions on both sides of the debate - ultimately, a strike of these proportions is crippling and selfish. Philadelphians young and old, rich and poor depend on public transportation. Many, including myself, use it because we cannot afford a car, or simply don't need it. Parents will struggle to get their children to school, and for many Philadelphians, getting their children to school is a difficult task with or without SEPTA. We don't need to add to the laundry list of social and economic barriers that already work against city youth. Employees will have to miss work or face stern warnings for showing up late because they had to walk or loiter for two hours in traffic. I have no sympathy for the lot of TWU. And we wonder why Philly is so mercilessly ripped apart by New Yorkers as "second rate". The behavior of this union certainly is.
Septa workers are insane! Hpw many people dont even have a job! average septa worker makes btw14-25/ hrs if u dont know, they pay only 1% of their salary for health benifits. They strke because they know they can and nothing will happen to em. Many of us ar loosing jobs. They wanan get more money but where does the money come from? from our pocket yup its clear that septa will say yes to their demands then increse the fare. tired of these people. Gotta kno this is not the best time to strike.
"I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?â Actually, last year, we all chipped in and bought a '78 dodge dart, which we take turns driving. I'm the publisher, so I get to take it home on weekends.
[...] Extortion: n., (1) obtaining by force, intimidation, or undue power; (2) SEPTA workers saying they might, just might, strike before the end of the week, when the World Series come to Philly, the city celebrates Halloween, and the Giants take on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. (Philadelphia CityPaper) [...]
Missing something at the end?
This is disgusting anti-worker propaganda. Most of us are working people. If some of us are getting screwed due to layoffs or wage freezes or pension cuts, the people to get angry at are not other workers who are fighting to preserve those benefits. Fighting each other is a sure way to continue to drive wages and benefits down and driving the gap between rich and poor up. As to TWU's alleged extortion, that's just Billman's synonym for the right to strike. Without the right to strike there would be no union movement in this country, which evidently would be alright with Billman. Strikes do cause inconvenience. The disappearance of unions, however, would be disastrous for everyone, whether a member of a union or not, who earns a wage and hopes one day to have a real pension. Of course, Billmon may think real pensions are just an imposition on those of us who don't have them. Great, Billmon. I hope your 401(k) Wall Street ripoff plan crashes and burns the next time the stock market tanks, just like you would like everyone else's to do. And be sure to be happy about it, because everyone else should be, too, right?
This was right on. It's nothing less than extortion for TWU-234 to strike right now. They think the World Series is leverage for them and it's disgraceful. However, to correct a not-so-minor point... Nutter and the City administration are not the ones involved in transit negotiations. SEPTA is an independent *state*-chartered entity and its management will conduct the negotiations with union leadership.
Thank you, Stan Shapiro. Amazingly narrow analysis.
Oh yeah, this is why I don't like unions. You want the right to strike, perfectly fine. You want a right to wage increases? Don't let the door hit you on the way out. And by the way, you don't need to be in a union to leave your crappy job whenever you want.
I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?
Well, I drive a 96 civic to work, and I hope this is the year where the SEPTA board gets backbone and holds the line in negotiations. The same thing Nutter needs to do when negotiating with city workers. If there's strikes, protests, and transit problems for a few weeks, so be it. The city will be better for it in the long run; the money saved can be put towards fare card system, technology improvements on vehicles, etc.
Worst. Public relations move. Ever. TWU just spent a fortune on television ads to try to get the city on their side of this dispute. If they strike during the World Series, they can kiss any good will goodbye. Last year, revelers trashed city property. This year, they may decide to trash SEPTA workers. Whether you are for the union or against the union, you have to admit, this is about the stupidest thing they could possibly do.
"I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?" Nice try on the oppressive-elitist accusation, buddy. I'm sure the whole office will get a kick out of the idea.
It's time for Pennsylvania to enact a law that would outlaw strikes by transit workers, as is the case in 39 other states and the District of Columbia.
Billman only drove his BMWer to work while replacing the G4s wood grain trim with the graphite. And Andrew Thompson drives a solid platinum Schwinn. Stop in and take a peek sometime- these people eat bologna sandwiches for launch not lobster hoagies.
I was crushed by septa bus doors on march 13 2007 i had a crappy lawyer stating i was on new bus with no steps going down I was on an old bus/ driver left 69 st in afternoon 215pm left doors open when i got to stop shouted next stop she pulled bus three blocks away from my stop was traveling a fast speed / when i walked down the steps she shut doors on me crushing my arms so tight i asked her to open doors she refused I had to pry doors open I have nerve damage from this I hope someone who reads this could compensate me for my injuries etc Elaine t Mcvey p.o. box 86 narberth pa 19072 610 741 5692
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