City in labor talks today with District Council 47

For just the second time, city negotiators are discussing a new labor deal with AFSCME District Council 47.

The two sides were meeting this morning at the Sheraton in Center City, and while there is no expectation that today's talks will yield significant progress, it is a sign of movement nonetheless.

DC 47's contract expires Tuesday, June 30 - along with the contracts held by District Council 33, the police and the fire fighters' unions.

3:30 P.M. UPDATE: The negotiations ended about 1:30 p.m., according to DC 47 spokesman Bob Bedard. "They met, but virtually nothing was accomplished," he said. "The ball was not moved forward today."

He said the city made an hour-long power point presentation about the bleak economy. The same or a similar presentation was made to District Council 33 in a separate bargaining meeting Monday.

Also, Bedard said, the city was unprepared to talk about health benefits changes, and did not today respond to a DC 47 request to show how the city would save money by implementing certain work-rule changes.

Reached by phone this afternoon, the city's chief negotiator, Shannon Farmer, had no immediate comment.

No new talks have been scheduled.

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