From Pete Matthews, President AFSCME District Council 33 –

(Sent to Philadelphia City Council and Phila area State Reps, State Senate, Congressional Leaders and Senator Casey) –

To City Council President Darrell Clarke

City Hall, Room 405

Philadelphia, Pa 19107-3290

Dear Council President Clarke,

I am enclosing with this letter a fact sheet for your review that details the more than substantial savings for Mayor Michael Nutter’s Philadelphia City Budget that AFSCME District Council 33 has helped to generate over the last four and a half years.

Please note that Mayor Michael Nutter has saved at least $415 million thanks to the support provided by District Council 33 through our foregoing of pay raises and health benefit contribution increases over the last (4) years. Also we have cooperated with the Nutter Administration in shrinking the City’s workforce by reassigning members to funded positions and avoiding layoffs. We lobby and work very hard in providing decisive political support for the City in Mayor Nutter’s effort to win legislative approval from the Pa. General Assembly to raise new revenue through an increase in the City’s Sales Tax.

I would like to note that the Mayor has not once contested the fact that our union is responsible for those savings. He has chosen instead to completely ignore this reality. With all of this cost saving, cooperation and political support Mayor Nutter still refuses to settle a fair contract with District Council 33.

We want each of you to know that Mayor Michael Nutter, a Democrat, has been deliberately creating a poisonous atmosphere with District Council 33 and all of the City’s unions, and his actions may have negative political and electoral consequences in the coming November General Election.

This is why we would like for you to tell Mayor Nutter to do the right thing and settle a fair contract with District Council 33 a contract that recognizes the contributions we have already made!

Sincerely,

Pete Matthews, President AFSCME District Council 33