Nutter asks Supremes to take up DC 33 case
Mayor Nutter on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to let the city and its largest union cut to the chase in the impending legal battle that will determine whether the mayor can impose terms on non-uniformed workers if there is a contract stalemate.
Nutter asks Supremes to take up DC 33 case
Sean Collins Walsh
Mayor Nutter on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to let the city and its largest union cut to the chase in the impending legal battle that will determine whether the mayor can impose terms on non-uniformed workers if there is a contract stalemate.
The city last week filed in Common Pleas Court, asking for permission to unilaterally impose what Nutter calls his "final offer" to District Council 33, which represents blue-collar workers who have been working without a contract since 2009.
Now, given the certainty that both sides will appeal if they lose, Nutter is asking the high court to take up the matter directly.
Last time the question of imposing terms came up - when the Housing Authority under Mayor Ed Rendell wanted to break a standoff with its security officers' union - the Supreme Court took a pass and let a Commonwealth Court decision in favor of the workers stand.
Nutter, of course, is now fighting against that precedent, so he would likely find little success before getting to the Supremes anyway. And, as fate would have it, the administration will be up against DC 33 lawyer Sam Spear, who was involved in that case and will now have to defend its continued relevance.
Last week, the city's chief negotiator, Shannon Farmer, said that the city believes it has the right to impose terms when an impasse has been reached (DC 33, for the record, contends negotiations haven't ended) and that the 1993 decision was wrong. She also said the facts of the DC 33 stalemate are so different than those of the PHA case that the city could win anyway.
But the requested move to the appellate fast lane may be an indication the city thinks its best shot lies in overturning the 1993 case.
Winning the power to impose could be the best - and maybe only - way forward for Nutter in his ugly labor predicament. Winning it soon might be the only way the second-term mayor can claim success on priorities like pension reform and labor costs before his successor becomes apparent.
Three of the four biggest unions have been without contracts since 2009, and there doesn't seem to be much progress in negotiations with the other two, white-collar DC 47 and the firefighters' Local 22.
A favorable decision for the city in the DC 33 case will dramatically alter the dynamics with DC 47. The firefighters, however, have a different negotiating process and are wrapped up in their own legal battle with the administration.
The Nutter Administrations arrogance is only surpassed by its incompetance. City Council and Bob Brady should be ashamed of themselves for not speaking out and stopping Dictator Nutter. Every other Mayor has honored binding arbitration awards(fire fighters) and has had a healthy respect for collective bargaining and did so in good faith. Nutter is an arrogant fraud who thinks he's above the law. The average salary of a DC 33 employee is $35,000 and this elitist snob thinks they are overpaid. Nutter does not believe in the middle class and has no loyalty to the people who help him run the city. DC 33, 47, Local 22 and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers should come together and back a candidate in 2015 and join the Republican Party. What do they have to lose? Make Don Bob Brady sweat with an actual primary challenge.— Michael T. Welsh- these useless humps are overpaid. if they didn't have their no-show jobs with the city they'd be earning minimum wage at McDonalds. and don't forget their fat five- and six-figure pensions.
don't like it? go on strike— hannibal barca - Thank God he can't run again— victim35
- His wish was granted...Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Cindy Birdsong began with a rousing rendition of "My World Is Empty Without You, Babe"— drbob1
- Nutter wants the courts to impose his terms, but when he loses in court and the court tells him he has to honor the firefighters contract he refuses. Kinda a double standard. You can't have it both ways.— jn3
- damn it's a shame to say i've known this nut since high school the same people that help you out ur ishing on them!Peace hope you have a good night sleep........................../— darkchild
- The arbitrator and court imposes that this administration honors the arbitration award for the firefighters, yet the administration still does not honor the courts decision. He then takes another union to court in order to have the court to impose his 'final' offer in so called 'negotiations' of contracts. He denies one courts decision yet runs back to court to have it impose his decision? The guy is worried about PICA and having yet another faux budget. Hence the fast track to the supreme. He will lose. Its mighty difficult to overturn precedent.— uandwhosearmy
- Governor Nutter has a nice ring to it.— jasjfarrell
- How come Philly always has a crook or a nut for a mayor ????— winter
- Public unions are not sustainable. Nutter is only beginning to realize this. He used the unions, like any Democrat would, and is now tossing them aside because he has to deal with reality.— psyrus
- @ M. Welsh -- take off your union hat, bro. DC33 is the City's blue collar union, 35k IS OVERPAID. Honestly, the American dream is that you can ACHIEVE anything, not that you're OWED EVERYTHING.— KYS24
- @kys24, Were you born stupid or just beat about the head alot? 35K is not overpaid. The "American Dream" is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. City workers work very hard to keep this city working. Now city elected officials..... well, that's different.
— TopCat#1 - Yes, I was born stupid because I don't believe someone without an education should make more than 35k/year -- clearly your brain is working well. We don't disagree on the American Dream, however, and that's exactly the issue; these uneducated idiots don't understand the distinction between opportunity and entitlement. Everyone has the opportunity to better themselves and to command a higher salary. These union thugs, however, expect to be handed a higher salary simply because of the fact that they've been doing it for a while. — KYS24
- KYS24: What world do you live in where $35,000 per year is deemed being overpaid? The American Dream is dead bro if we continue to lower living standards like we are doing. Third world here we come.— Michael T. Welsh
- @ M. Welsh - you're talking about trash collectors, man. In what universe should a trash collector make more than 35k/year? Beyond that, why give a trash collector anything but a COL raise? What's the difference between the trash collector that's been there for 6 months and the trash collector that's been there for 15 years? Nothing.— KYS24
Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
