Were Anti-Nutter Hecklers Paid With Sick Days?
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- One day after angry union members prevented Mayor Nutter from delivering his budget address (see related story and video), aides to the mayor say they have no plans to see whether some of the workers had called in sick to take part in the heckling.
Hundreds of city workers whistled, jeered and shouted at the mayor as he began his speech. A day later, observers wondered how so many city workers were able to be off the job on Thursday, and whether any had called in sick.
The mayor's spokesman, Mark McDonald, says the administration has no plans to look in to the matter:
"We will not be pursuing that line of inquiry. We have neither the time nor the resources to follow up on that."
A spokesman for District Council 33, the largest of two non-uniformed municipal workers' unions, tells KYW Newsradio that its members were notified weeks in advance of the protest plans, and he says many adjusted their schedules in order to have Thursday off.
The spokesman also noted that many of those in attendance were in other, non-municipal unions.
So, the budget season that started off with a literal bang continues later this month with weeks of hearings in City Council.
