City Tells Workers About Pay Freeze -- By E-Mail
Philly halting pay increases because of budget deficit
By LAUREN HEPBURN
Updated 8:39 AM EST, Tue, Jul 7, 2009
The City of Philadelphia notified all 20,000 plus civil service employees -- both union and non-union -- via a mass e-mail Monday that the city will not pay for any salary increases.
The freeze is an attempt to save the city $8 million this year and about $80 million over the next five years.
“This is a time of shared sacrifice for everyone in Philadelphia and around the country as double digit unemployment is predicted to continue to rise for another year,” said Mayor Nutter.
The announcement comes as the Nutter administration works to reduce spending to deal with the city's financial crisis. City Hall is facing a projected budget deficit of more than $1 billion over the next five years.
The city’s Five Year Plan says that they need to save $125 million from city workers.
The city is in the midst of negotiating new contracts for workers represented by its four major municipal unions. Prior union agreements expired June 30 and no new agreement has been made since.
At least one union leader has already vowed to fight the change. Cathy Scott from District Council 47 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees believes the mayor brushed over other potential cuts.
Future pay increases will be based on the length of time an employee spends on the job. Workers typically receive those increases on the anniversary of their hire.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Philadelphia
First Published: Jul 6, 2009 4:02 PM EST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
