Philadelphia city workers' union votes to authorize strike
Thousands of Philadelphia city workers have voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike.
AFSCME District Council 33, which represents blue-collar city workers including many of those in the sanitation and water departments, voted this month to authorize a strike. Eighty-seven percent of those who voted were in favor of the strike, according to a post by the union on Facebook.
This does not mean the union is on strike; it means leaders can call a strike at any time if they can't reach a deal in contract negotiations with the city. It's not clear when a strike would begin.
Employees have been working without a contract since July.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to Mayor Cherelle Parker's office for comment and has not heard back.
Workers protested outside City Hall on Oct. 30 after passing a motion to allow the strike authorization vote.
Tarik Jackson, a union worker, took aim at Mayor Cherelle Parker's "One Philly" messaging at the time.
"This supposed to be 'One Philly,' right? We're not being treated like One Philly," Jackson said. "We all want to be treated the same way. We need good, decent pay. That's what we all out here for. We shouldn't have to work two jobs."
