PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two of the local unions within District Council 33, which represents blue-collar workers employed by the city, are breaking with the larger union to endorse former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker for mayor.
DC33 is the largest of the four city workers’ unions. Its leaders endorsed grocer Jeff Brown in a surprise vote, last January, that gave the candidate’s campaign an early lift.
However, the locals representing the Street Department’s sanitation and highway divisions are angry about a Brown campaign ad that demanded “Clean Up the Trash.” The Streets employees took it personally, said DC33 president Ernest Garrett. The ad has since been pulled, but “Clean up the Trash” signs are still circulating.
The final straw may have been at last week’s televised debate when Brown criticized unions that had endorsed other candidates, prompting a call from the Building Trades Council for unions supporting Brown to withdraw their endorsements.
Garrett says DC 33 still stands behind Brown, and he’s disappointed the Streets Department locals are splitting off from the rest of the 12 locals. They will announce their support for Cherelle Parker at a Tuesday-morning press conference and declined to comment until then.
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