By The Philly Public Record

– In time to make it an interesting race, Council President Darrell Clarke has issued a writ of election to fill the seat vacated by Councilman at Large Bill Green whose appointment by Gov. Tom Corbett to head the School Reform Commission has been confirmed by the Senate. The contested seat will appear on the primary ballot.

President Clarke will issue the writ of election on Monday, Mar. 24. He said, “This will give the County Board of Elections time to prepare the voting machines and for other steps required by the Election Code.”

Clarke noted, “The special election will be a one-step election, with the winner serving the balance of the term to which Councilman Green was elected until Jan. 4, 2016. The deadline for each party to file its nomination certificate designating its candidate is Apr. 8.”

Unlike the independents running, the two major-party candidates will only need a nominating certificate forwarded to the Registration Commission from their respective party leadership which attests to their endorsements.

Frontrunners for the endorsement by the city’s two major parties are Democratic State Rep. Ed Neilson (D-Northeast) and Republican Ward Leader Matt Wolfe. There may be others running, but they’ve got to come up with a minimum of 1,785 signatures on their nomination petitions, which no doubt will be challenged by both major parties. Their petitions need to be filed by Apr. 8 as well.

If you need more information, we suggest you contact (215) 686-3469 or PHLCouncil.com.

Source: http://www.phillyrecord.com/2014/03/may-special-election-called-for-philadelphia-open-council-seat/

PhillyLabor.com Welcomes FOP #5 president John McNesby as the guest Speaker at Tonight’s (3/5) Meet and Greet Event to be held at District council 21 Painters and Allied Trades Union Hall.

– One of the highest profile union leaders in Philadelphia, often having to negotiate and fight his battles in the public eye and in the media, John Mc Nesby is a passionate advocate and supporter of his members, Philadelphia’s finest, who are out on the streets everyday risking their lives to protect us in the line of fire under the most stressful circumstances and conditions imaginable.

Where do Philadelphia Police officers go when they have a problem and need support when they are being treated unfairly, THEY GO TO JOHN MCNESBY because they know he has their back, he will represent them to the fullest and do everything necessary on their behalf to ensure that they are treated fairly.

A 23 year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and the FOP, John McNesby has been actively involved in the FOP on many levels, serving as squad director and being elected to delegate, since joining the department. He served on the Appropriations Committee, and was Chair of the Grievance and By-Law Committees through the year 1994-2000. In addition he served on the Contract Committee for the contract arbitrated in the years 2000, 2002 and 2004.

In 2000, John was elected to the FOP Executive Board as Trustee, and in 2002 as Vice President. As Vice President, John handled numerous labor issues on behalf of our membership. From 2005 to 2007, John was the FOP’s Chief of Staff where he directed the everyday operations of the Lodge.

In 2007, while running for President John said “When elected as President, I make this promise to you, that my team will work as hard as we can, give it our all, day in and day out, to improve, wages, benefits and pensions and to continue to work diligently for our pensioners! During his time as FOP 5 president, John and his team have kept their promise and done exactly that on behalf of their FOP membership.

PhillyLabor is proud to have John McNesby as our featured event speaker tonight!

For additional information on the PhillyLabor.com Business to Labor Network, go to: http://phillylabor.com/advertisenetworkpromote-your-business/

By The Associated Press

(Washington) —  Pennsylvania’s senior U.S. senator is urging Republican leaders of the state legislature not to move forward on a bill that would make it harder for labor unions to collect dues and political action contributions through payroll deductions.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Democratic Senator Bob Casey expressed concern the legislation could be quickly pushed through in an election year with the support of conservative groups and major business associations.

In a letter to state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, and state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, Casey said the bill could undermine unions’ ability to bargain collectively.

The issue has leaked into this year’s hotly contested governor’s race. Republican Governor Tom Corbett has pledged to sign the bill if passed.

The full text of Senator Casey’s letter is below:

Dear Senator Pileggi and Representative Turzai,

I am writing to you regarding Senate Bill 1034 and House Bill 1507. It is my understanding that these bills have been introduced in both the Senate and House respectively and are awaiting further consideration. I have heard from my constituents and I wish to express my concern that these bills may unfairly target public employees and could ultimately undermine the right of these employees to bargain collectively.

It is my understanding that these bills would end the right of certain public employee unions to bargain for automatic dues deductions from their paychecks. This is a right that has been shared by the likes of teachers, bus drivers, road maintenance crews, and many other public servants for decades. Automatic dues deductions is a policy that unions and public officials have negotiated jointly in the past.  I am not aware of any particular reason why that bargaining right should be taken away now or why this type of deduction would be singled out.

As the majority leaders in both the House and Senate, I respectfully ask you to not move forward with taking up these bills. I appreciate your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Casey, Jr.

United States Senator

Source: http://www.witf.org/news/2014/02/senator-bob-casey-urges-state-lawmakers-to-sidestep-union-bill.php

By Jared Shelly

– Philadelphians are in for a big hike in their gas bills after the sale of Philadelphia Gas Works to UIL Holdings Corp. for $1.86 billion, an advocacy group is warning.

Food & Water Watch warns that if gas utility privatization is anything like water privatization, then customers will pay the price with rate increases. Sam Bernhardt, senior Pennsylvania organizer for Food & Water Watch, said that rate increases occur “time and time again” when water utilities go private. (See infographic.)

In Bensalem, Pa., a typical annual water and/or sewer bill was $137.08 before privatization but climbed to $578.05 after. In Bristol, Pa., the bill jumped from $165.44 to $661.43. After privatization in Media, Pa., water bills climbed from $335.69 to $792.22.

“We don’t have any reason to believe that in the privatization of a gas utility, we’d see anything different,” said Bernhardt, whose group has joined with a coalition of unions, consumer groups, neighborhood associations, and environmental groups to urge City Council members to vote against the sale of the utility during the approval process.

To be fair to the city, terms of the deal require that UIL not raise prices on consumers for three years and no jobs will be lost in that time. Mayor Michael Nutter said in a press conference on Monday that UIL Corp. can only raise its rates if it goes through the same process PGW would go through today.

But what happens after three years?

Bernhardt argues that UIL Corp. will be itching to make a “return on its investment.” He expects the company to do so in two ways: By cutting costs (“the easiest way to do that is to cut labor force”) and increasing revenue (“we expect them to largely do that through increased rates for consumers.”) He says that any rate freeze is just an attempt to block citizens and advocacy groups from fighting the sale.

But is it really a far cry that a private company can run PGW more efficiently? Think about paying a bill online. It currently costs $2.95 to do so, which seems pretty antiquated compared to the way many private companies allow customers to pay bills online for free.

“I don’t think there are a ton of people out there saying PGW is running poorly — its making a profit right now,” said Bernhardt. “I don’t see Mayor Nutter’s office or UIL for that matter, coming out with specific proposals on increasing efficiency.”

Public ownership of utilities is a good thing, he says, because if it goes private, citizens lose their right to speak out against company policies.

“If PGW is privatized,” he said, “We lose ability to have a public voice on the topic what gas infrastructure looks like in Philadelphia.”

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2014/03/03/pgw-privatization-means-higher-rates.html?page=all

Who – Hosted By AFSCME District Council 33

All AFSCME DC 33 MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!