Students march down Broad Street for school funding
Thousands of students poured off SEPTA buses and emerged from the Spring Garden stop on the Broad Street Line today to rally at the School District Building in Philadelphia. They were there to protest the ongoing school district budget cuts and to put pressure on both the Philadelphia government and the state government to fund the $300 million funding gap looming...
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Nutter to sign LGBT rights bill
At 3pm today, Mayor Nutter will sign a bill that will make Philadelphia the most LGBT-friendly city in the country, according to a press release. The legislation, sponsored by Councilman Jim Kenney, will provide the first “Life Partner and Transgender Health Tax Credits” in the country, offering tax incentives for private companies to provide benefits to...
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3 Councilmen Voted Against City LGBT Bill—Why?
Philadelphia City Council passed historic legislation this morning which gives incentives for private companies in the city to provide benefits to members of the LGBT community employed by said company and mandates the city government do more to avoid sexual discrimination. After a short debate and public comment, three councilmen—David Oh, Brian O’Neill...
Continue ReadingCity Council Fails to Override Nutter’s Paid Sick Leave Veto
Councilman Bill Greenlee, the prime sponsor of the paid sick leave legislation in City Council, did not bring up a vote to override Mayor Nutter’s veto this morning—and apologized to the city for failing on the issue. “I will not be calling for an override of Mayor Nutter’s veto concerning the paid sick leave bill because we are one vote short...
Continue ReadingNutter Vetoes Paid Sick Leave—Again
Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the paid sick leave bill this morning, claiming it would hurt “the very workers this bill is intended to help” via job cuts from local businesses who can’t pay for it. The decision is not a surprise, but a disappointment for the Philadelphia Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces, a collective of community organizing groups...
Continue ReadingNutter’s Paid Sick Leave Decision is Nigh
Mayor Nutter has until tomorrow to make a decision on earned paid sick leave for workers in Philadelphia. On March 14, City Council passed an earned sick leave bill by an 11-6 vote. The bill, introduced by Councilman Bill Greenlee, would allow workers without paid sick time to earn one hour for every 40 hours worked. It has a history of controversy amongst some...
Continue ReadingPaid Sick Leave Passes–But Will It Stick?
Hundreds of protesters showed up for Mayor Nutter’s budget speech this morning. Many of them, from unions like AFSCME DC 47, DC 33, were there to protest specifically against Nutter, being that three city unions are still working without contracts, and many blame the mayor for this. They chanted “Bozo sucks!” before the address began, holding signs of Nutter...
Continue ReadingUnion Protesters Drown Out Mayor Nutter’s Budget Speech
As expected, Mayor Michael Nutter gave a speech to a packed hall of union protesters, angry at the administration for having worked several years without a new negotiated contract. Things had been a little nutty throughout the morning, as the City Council debated earned sick leave and a couple other issues. Protesters had shown up early with signs portraying...
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Paid Sick Days Passes Committee After Sparks Fly in City Hall
The fight for paid sick days has been long, and yesterday’s hearing before the Public Health and Human Services Committee began bright and early, with several advocates meeting media before the session began to tell their stories. “We have found that treating workers fairly is good for business,” said Janet Filante, owner of Childspace Daycare. “This...
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Q&A: Philly Guerrilla Artist Huggie on Mayor Nutter AVI Art
This spring, the city is expected to overhaul our property tax system. Instead of tax rates that are based on property assessments from 2004 and, in some cases, the 1980s, each city property has been re-assessed and likely taxed at around 1.25 percent (though the final number is still unknown). What that means, in layman’s terms: your taxes are probably...
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