Thousands of firefighters will march on City Hall Thursday
Mayor Nutter apparently didn't respond to an invitation to speak Monday to the International Association of Fire Fighters at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. So on Thursday, the 3,500 union members in town for their annual convention will come to him.
Thousands of firefighters will march on City Hall Thursday
Chris Brennan
Mayor Nutter apparently didn't respond to an invitation to speak Monday to the International Association of Fire Fighters at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. So on Thursday, the 3,500 union members in town for their annual convention will come to him.
Bill Gault, president of Local 22, says the conventioneers will march down Broad Street Thursday around lunch-time to City Hall, where they will protest Nutter's lack of action so far on a July 2 ruling by a binding arbitration panel that largely upheld terms of a 2010 ruling and giving them retroactive pay raises, more money for health care and protection from furloughs.
Nutter has until Aug. 2 to appeal or accept the terms of that ruling. His spokesman, Mark McDonald, this morning said he had not heard about the firefighter march. McDonald said the Nutter administration doesn't have a response yet on the arbitration ruling.
Jeff Zack, a spokesman for the IAFF in Washington D.C., confirmed Thursday's march. "We're well aware of what's happening here," Zack said of the contract dispute. "I imagine they'll be pretty loud."
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak Wednesday at 1 p.m. to the convention. The IAFF last month endorsed Biden and President Obama for re-election. As we noted two weeks ago, the local dispute could cast a pall on Nutter's growing national reputation.
Local 22 members on Monday passed out fliers at two entrances to the convention, asking for support from their fellow union members. The fliers said: "Please. We need your help. Philadelphia firefighters have been without a contract for three years, Mayor Nutter refuses to sign the legally arbitrated award. Please ask your delegates to demand that Mayor Nutter sign the award. Thank you and stay safe. Please stand with us!"
I can hardly wait for the posts about union thugs.— mick-of-the-moment
Comment removed.- Are they going to march down the sidewalk or use their thug union tactics and march down the middle of the street and screwing over everyone else in their path? Will the PPD do their job and not allow them to snarl traffic or sit idley by and watch?— Taxpaying Voter
- Nutter is an arrogant fraud. The rest of the country should know that too. Pay these fire fighters what they deserve for their bravery and sacrifice.— Michael T. Welsh
- Do they have a permit to march?— Jacob
- Obama,,,Nutter,,,country in the toilet. Any pattern here?— moretoit
- Bush can't even show his face at the Republican convention...yet I suppose you think he was a great President. — tom-104
- And, Bush won't show his face in Europe or any other foreign country. I've heard he's afraid of being arrested for Crimes Against Humanity for his treachery in Iraq. — CommonSense in Philly
- Sure do recognize the pattern. It's the same one we see when Republicans are in charge. — CommonSense in Philly
- Why is Nutter dragging his feet on this? Give the PFD what they need and certainly deserve.— marcie
- What they need? They're already working for a specific wage, in this time of fiscal prudence is it really wise to throw more at them?— FatOwlbert
- @taxpaying voter...would YOU risk your life for your fellow citizens? Firefighters do every time they go on a run...even for the lowest scum in this city. They had no contract for three years and were granted one during arbitration. The city needs to uphold the contract that was FINALLY awarded them.Or maybe we should go back to the original firefighting system...if you don't pay for insurance then your house burns.— merlinmbt
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Hey is that smoke coming out of the attic at Nutters house ?………..lol— Redwoodser - Everyone just talks about the small raises firefighters were awarded. How about the health care concessions in the award that save the city millions of dollars. By appealing the award, the city lost millions of dollars in health care savings and spent millions of dollars to Ballard and Spahr (Ed Rendell's firm) in legal fees. So how is not signing the award smart for the city. Once again, spotty reporting to slant the story in a favorable direction for the mayor.— jn3
- As long as these men and women are willing to run into burning building to save lives and propety they will not be considered "union thugs" in my book. Especially after the deaths and injuries caused by the fires in the abandoned warehouses these past few months. If they are going to risk their lives in these death traps because the city lets them stand then the city had better get used to the idea of paying decent wages, death benefits and health expenses!!!!— unbelieveable!
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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
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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
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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
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