City workers walk off job

MARGARET KANE and DWAYNE SYE Philadelphia city workers walked off the job early this morning as a midnight deadline passed with negotiations between two unions and the city still deadlocked. Members of the blue-collar District Council 33 and the white-collar District Council 47, unsatisfied with Mayor Edward Rendell's latest contract offer, said last night that the mayor offered what one worker called "a raw deal." "He doesn't want to bargain," said Crossing Guard Freda Clark, who was demonstrating at Veteran's Stadium last night. "He doesn't want to do anything." Around 500 members from both unions passed out leaflets around the stadium last night before the Philadelphia Eagles took on the Dallas Cowboys in a nationally televised game. "We're just trying to get attention any way we can. We're trying to get the support of the people," Surveyor Joe Powell said. However, most fans ignored the demonstrators. Powell and other union members wore signs reading, "Sack Fast Eddie" and similar slogans referring to Rendell. At a press conference early last night, Rendell asked the city for patience and cooperation. "This strike will not be painless," Rendell said. "There will be inconvenience, there will be problems, there will be threats of violence. "Even the possibility of real violence has been raised by some of the union membership," he added. The unions have been without a contract since July 1. Two weeks ago the mayor implemented what he called his "last, best contracted offer." Under the city charter the mayor may implement a contract when negotiations have failed. The four-year contract contains no wage increases for the first two years, and a five percent increase over the last two years. It also calls for the unions to give back eight of 20 paid sick days, as well as four of 14 municipal holidays. Starting November 1, workers will be covered under one of the city's three Health Maintenance Organizations or Blue Cross/Blue Shield. During the last strike involving city workers, white-collar workers struck for two weeks and blue-collar workers stayed out of work for three weeks.