city workers

Yesterday, several representatives from the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, Philadelphia Student Union, Philadelphia Joint Board/Workers United, Casino-Free Philadelphia, and the Media Mobilizing Project visited SEPTA workers, who have gone on strike to demand a fair contract. To show support and solidarity, we visited several picket locations across the city, including 58th and Vine, 69th and Market, Bridge and Pratt, and 49th and Woodland, and spoke with members of TWU Local 234 to get the real story.

Philadelphia is in crisis. People across the city are feeling the effects of the global economic downturn and wondering what the future will bring for them and their families. The city has finally resolved a long, drawn out, and deeply unsettling budgeting process, and it feels now like the dust has finally settled. But even though massive service cuts and layoffs are off the table for now, this economic crisis is far from over, and we in Philadelphia now have a clear idea of the kinds of solutions our city government is willing to present.

Photos by Mariel Waloff

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of Philadelphians came out in the rain to send a message to state legislators (who were meeting nearby) that Mayor Nutter's attempt to balance the city budget on the backs of city workers is unacceptable.

The Essential Services Coalition held a press conferences presenting the cuts and tax increases  in the budget passed by the city council for FY 2010.

Above you will hear the concerns of our city's residents about a budget that raises sales taxes, cuts library hours, summer jobs for youth, and charges for care at city health centers. They state that this budget is being balanced on the backs of the city's workers, and with the well being of city's poor abandoned.