City reaches settlement with white-collar unions

The city has reached a tentative contract settlement with AFSCME District Council 47, ending a five-year stalemate going back to 2009 and extending a new contract to mid-2017, union president Frederick Wright confirmed Tuesday.

Wright declined to disclose financial details, pending an explanation and ratification vote for about 3,500 union members, expected sometime next week.

He said the Nutter administration had given up two critical demands: authority to put employees on furlough for up to three weeks a year, and a proposal to put newly hired union members into a new, hybrid pension plan with lower guaranteed benefits.

"I don't want to give numbers; we still need to ratify," Wright said. "But it goes back to 2009, there are no furlough days, and we'll maintain our pension plan."

District Council 47 represents social workers, accountants and other white-collar city employees.

The agreement followed an all-day negotiating session with the Nutter administration.

Asked whether anything in particular had propelled the talks forward after such a long deadlock, Wright credited an open letter released Monday and signed by all 16 members of City Council, urging the Nutter administration to give up its furlough demands.

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