City union seeks halt on change in salaries

The president of a municipal union filed a request Tuesday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court for a temporary restraining order to stop Mayor Nutter from imposing salary and benefit conditions on 856 employees until the public can file objections.

Michael J. Walsh, president of AFSCME Local 2186, representing supervisors in departments including Health, Human Services, the Free Library, and Parks and Recreation, argued that the pay and benefit changes should have been available for public comment for 30 days and then heard by the Civil Service Commission.

The members of Local 2186, as supervisors, are unionized but do not have traditional collective bargaining rights.

The contract imposed by Nutter included salary increases, but also concessions on benefits. The administration says that procedure is not required to be followed for a pay plan for civil-service employees. Judge Idee Fox will consider the issue Friday. - Miriam Hill