Updated on July 21, 12:50 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Members of District Council 33, Philadelphia’s largest blue-collar workers union, have voted in favor of ratifying a three-year contract deal with the city.
The 9,000 members of DC 33 had to vote in person at union headquarters in University City over the last week, casting votes either for or against the three-year contract that union officials and the Parker administration agreed to on July 9. The eight-day-long DC 33 strike ended that morning.
According to the results shared Monday, 1,535 members voted for the deal, and 838 voted against it. Two votes were void. However, that means nearly a third of union members did not vote at all.
Union President Greg Boulware initially expressed disappointment in the terms of the deal, but he maintained that it was the best contract the union could have gotten.
Boulware, in a recent Q&A video posted on DC 33’s social media pages, explained what would happen if members rejected the agreement: “That would be an indication that we would have to go back to the negotiating table with the city of Philadelphia. However, in my opinion and from experts that we’ve talked to in regards to this, we go back to the table with less negotiating power.”
Boulware said walking off the job for a second time would not have helped move the needle in their direction.
“We got as much as we could possibly get out of the city,” he said. “I’m well aware of how we were supported and how things operated in the public eye. We did a tremendous job with that. But that did not translate to negotiating at all. The city was not moving at all off of their financial positions and many of the other things we were fighting for.”
Mayor Cherelle Parker held firm on making a deal that she said would not jeopardize the city’s finances. She also did not want to change the residency requirement for workers. The union sought to change the rule so that members could move outside of the city after 10 years of employment.
While the union may have fallen short of the raises it was seeking, Boulware said the union did not have to make concessions. The tentative contract agreement includes 3% raises each year, a $1,500 signing bonus, and a fifth step added to the pay scale that would tack on an additional 2% for eligible workers.