PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia judge has upheld Mayor Cherelle Parker’s back-to-office order for city employees.
The ruling came after two days of hearings in which attorneys and witnesses parsed the language of contracts, emails and memorandums as the white-collar city workers union, District Council 47, argued that back-to-office work had to be negotiated and the city-maintained work location is strictly a management decision.
Judge Sierra Thomas-Streeter didn’t rule on that at all, saying the union had failed to show that its members would be irreparably harmed if they went back to office while arbitration was pending.
Council 47 President April Gigetts was disappointed.
“I think we were able to demonstrate the harm. We had a lot of discussions, a lot of interviews, we met with hundreds of members,” Gigetts said.
Eight members testified about the hardships of child care, elder care, and disabilities that make office work difficult but since the argument failed, she told members they must report on Monday, July 15.
Eighty percent of the city’s workers have been back full time. The order covers about 4,000 workers.
This was a big victory for Parker, who has maintained that she has the authority to order workers back. The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Camille DuChaussee said an on-site workforce is vital to the mayor’s vision for the city.
“We have the workforce that will get us there. We have the talent in the city and we look forward to making good on the promises that were made during the administration,” DuChaussee said.