Philadelphia city employees will be required to report to their work offices five days a week starting on July 15, Mayor Cherelle Parker has announced.
“In alignment with my Administration’s goals of creating a more visible and accessible government, I have notified all City workers that they will be transitioning to full-time, in-office work effective July 15, 2024. All City employees are to default to full-time in-office or on-site work,” Ms. Parker said in the announcement Monday.
Ms. Parker also contends that returning to the office will lead to more productivity, social interactions between employees, and create an environment where “diversity, equity and inclusion are truly realized.”
Many workers have already returned. Around 80% of city employees worked full-time on-site in 2023, and the remaining 20% worked on-site for 31 of every 75 pay hours, according to Ms. Parker’s release.
Several local bigwigs, including the head of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority approve of the initiative.
“Philadelphia – and SEPTA – are at their best when they are bustling with activity, and that means people traveling to work, running errands, going to restaurants, and taking in all that our great city has to offer,” CEO Leslie Richards said in a statement.
Gerald Sweeney, CEO of the Brandywine Trust, the city’s largest commercial landlord, said in a statement that “a great city thrives on the vibrancy of both its neighborhoods and workforce. As such, we applaud Mayor Parker’s decision to have the city’s workforce return to in-person work across city government.”
The union that represents many Philadelphia city employees, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 47 Local 2187, decried the decision.
“Eliminating ‘alternative work schedules’ is a mistake. Many Philadelphia city workers on alt work schedules have been for years or even decades. 21st-century city services require them. The City’s economy relies on them. We’re fighting to retain & expand them,” the union wrote on social media.
The union also contended that alternative schedules with room for an employee to work from home, far from being a COVID-19 response that now should be undone as the pandemic has ended, are grounded in a “flextime” provision won by the union in a 1992 contract.
“We are disheartened to hear that the mayor decided to unilaterally implement returning my members to work 5 days a week on July 15. This to us, is a mandatory subject of bargaining … It has become clearer than ever that the mayor doesn’t not care for her city workforce,” David Wilson, president of the union, said in a statement to Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU-TV.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.