Councilwoman Tasco is voting aye. Councilwoman Verna.
Aye. The ayes are 16, the nays are 0. The majority of all Members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill for consideration will be Bill No. 980376. The Clerk will please read the title of the bill.
An ordinance granting permission to IXC Carrier, Inc., a Nevada corporation registered to do business in Pennsylvania.
This bill, having been read on two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will call a roll.
Councilwoman STATED MEETING - FINAL PASSAGE - 980376 Blackwell.
Aye. Councilman Mariano is voting aye. Councilwoman Miller is voting aye. Councilman Nutter.
Councilman O'Neill is voting aye. STATED MEETING - FINAL PASSAGE - 980377 Councilman Ortiz.
Councilwoman Tasco is voting aye. Councilwoman Verna.
Aye. The ayes are 16, the nays are 0. The majority of all Members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill for consideration is Bill No. 980377. The Clerk will please read the title of the bill.
An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 308 by relocating the southerly curb line of Rodman Street from Ninth Street to Tenth Street.
This bill, having been read on two different days, the question now STATED MEETING - FINAL PASSAGE - 980377 is, shall the bill pass finally? The Clerk will call a roll.
Aye. Councilman Mariano is voting aye. Councilwoman Miller is voting aye. Councilman Nutter. STATED MEETING - FINAL PASSAGE - 980377
Councilwoman Tasco is voting aye. Councilwoman Verna.
Aye. The ayes are 16, the nays are 0. The majority of all Members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. This concludes our consideration of the calendar
Are there any speeches on the part of Members of the Minority? (No speeches on the part of the Minority.) STATED MEETING - SPEECHES
Are there any speeches on the part of Members of majority? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. I understand that after your efforts today and our meetings downstairs with members of SEPTA and the TWU that certainly took longer for them to get to the negotiating table than it was for SEPTA to say that there was nothing to talk about and that the negotiations lasted less than ten minutes. It seems to me that our efforts were undermined certainly if both sides said they were ready and if SEPTA specifically said they were ready to negotiate, then in good faith, they should have at least given us some respect. By the time they sat there, it took longer to get from City Hall there than it did for actual negotiations to take place. And I think it is unfair for SEPTA to meet with us and then say they did not have anything to say. So I would certainly like to STATED MEETING - SPEECHES send them a message that we are certainly condemning their actions of not negotiating. And certainly the ridership, as well as those unemployed people, deserve to have people sitting at the table so that we can get this strike resolved.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. There's no speech. Just simply an announcement that the Council Committee on Rules will convene immediately after the session, so I would ask all members of the committee to remain in the room to establish a quorum.
Mr. President, I think it's time to end the game-playing. The negotiator for SEPTA is a former Chief of Staff of the City of Philadelphia. He's known to be very close to two STATED MEETING - SPEECHES people -- one is the Mayor of the City, the other is the President of City Council. I think he feels that he is absolutely free to adopt a position that we used to say was the position of the old robber barons in the old days when unions were targets, when it was a crime for workers to associate together and form a labor organization. I think David L. Cohen is taking advantage of his former positions. I believe that the positions he took this morning at the meeting in the Mayor's office were very clear indications that SEPTA is not bargaining in good faith, that SEPTA has determined and believes it has the right to set the boundary lines of what it's going to agree to. And if we permit that situation to remain, I think it's going to be a very, very long and unfruitful period ahead of us in which the people of Philadelphia are going to be suffering. I think it's urgent that this Council adopt a time position, a position that says you have, say, 24, 48 hours, 72 hours in which to reach an agreement; and if you don't, the issues, in the interests of the citizens of Philadelphia, STATED MEETING - SPEECHES have to be referred to an arbitration board of some kind or a mediation board having the power to consider both the positions of both sides. It may well be -- it may we will be that such an arbitration has to take place after the return of people to their jobs because each side may need more time. But I think if we set up a structure which enables both sides to present their positions to some outside force with the binding effect, you know, of -- that an arbitrator generally has, I think we will be moving this forward. Otherwise, I think we're in the old days where SEPTA is relying on the power of the City money, and I'm delighted that this Council took the first step to try to see that SEPTA doesn't have that money available, but I don't think that's going to be enough. And I think it is the duty of this City Council to make very clear that the policy of this Council is to compel, compel good-faith bargaining. And, Mr. President, I don't think we ought to adjourn this meeting without taking some STATED MEETING - SPEECHES further action. Thank you.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Mr. President. Also in reference to SEPTA, I hope the SEPTA management is listening very clear to this Council and they don't plan to try to operate the el and the subway system. We passed a resolution asking them not to do that. I think that would be devastating to the ridership of the SEPTA system. And, again, I hope that they are listening and do not plan to try to operate that system. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Mr. President, I think it was obvious this morning that the management of SEPTA and its main negotiator, David L. Cohen, do not believe that the strikers have any rights whatsoever, and that they have any position that is viable or realistic. They made it very clear that they have STATED MEETING - SPEECHES the parameters of the negotiations and the negotiations are that they're supposed to be able to come in along management's rules and regulations. Either you take it or leave it -that is not, obviously, negotiations. That is just saying, This is all that you're going to be offered and there's no room, no wiggles, no anything to be able to begin negotiations. Obviously, the ten-minute meeting or the five-minute meeting that took place at noon today is a very clear example of that. I think you and the Council made it very clear that we would want negotiations to take place around the clock. SEPTA is not willing to sit down because SEPTA is not willing to negotiate. They have the truth, they have the papers, they have the parameters, the parameters are set. It's like Ken Starr. He has the truth that either you come in with the way I believe and what I believe the truth to be, or there is nothing. And that is not the way to go. I think they have to begin to understand that the trolleys, the buses, the trains, they should sit STATED MEETING - SPEECHES and not be run by management, scabs, or any other individuals. I think we have made very clear the intention of this Council. We will stand with the workers, we will stand for negotiations, but we also want fair, fair negotiations. We don't want threats, we don't want name-calling, we don't want a process that only one side holds the truth. We want them to be able to sit down and come to some conclusion. But we have made it very clear. They know where we stand, and if the management of SEPTA decides to go along that way, I think that this Council needs to act very quickly on the transfer ordinance that Councilman Cohen introduced today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to add again how insulting it is for us to meet this morning instead of doing our Council business, to have them say that they STATED MEETING - SPEECHES would negotiate and not do that, and then to also send us a message that they are going to try to operate the trains and the subways. My understanding is that yesterday in some kind of test case, two trains ended up facing each other on the same track. It takes, what, 18 months of training to learn how to operate trains? And management thinks that they can act as scabs and come in and try to jeopardize the lives of City residents? It's unconscionable that they would try to even imply or insinuate that they would consider such an action. Certainly we, as representatives of the public, have a responsibility to try to make sure that they live and work and travel in a safe environment. And for SEPTA to even consider having management people who have no training to try to operate trains is absolutely unbelievable. Again, we want to send a message that we passed a resolution a week ago or however long ago it was.
March the 12th, denouncing that kind of action. And we STATED MEETING - SPEECHES expect them to honor our resolution. Thank you.
I notice representatives of Local 234 are here. I would ask that they be permitted to speak and to report to us what happened, and I would suggest that a request go by to you David L. Cohen, or whoever else represents SEPTA, to also come here immediately to make management report as to what happened following your request, which Council unanimously supported, for round-the-clock negotiations.
Councilman, I don't have any objection to giving a report. My request is that we recess or adjourn this Council, convene in the caucus room, and get whatever report we want.
I want to adjourn this meeting or recess it and convene in the Council caucus room and get whatever report you STATED MEETING - SPEECHES want.
Well, I don't think this session ought to adjourned. I think we ought to stay in recess until we are sure that genuine, good-faith bargaining is taking place and that there is a structure -
Councilman Cohen, we want to give you what you want, but we want to do it fast; we do not want to do it slow. And I suggest that we stand in recess for 30 minutes, go to the caucus room, and get a report.
All those in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Those opposed, say nay. STATED MEETING - SPEECHES The ayes have it. We stand in recess for 30 minutes. (Recessed at 1:20 p.m.) (Proceedings continue in caucus room.)
The City Council session that has been recessed, we recessed for about 30 minutes. That session will stay in recess until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Councilmembers, at 4 o'clock, in the Council caucus room, will be meeting with the City's representatives on the SEPTA Board. Mr. Brookens will be back, Mr. Cohen has been invited to be back, although I think he may decline our invitation. But we will further consider what we will -- the Council might be able to do to effect some kind of resolution of the SEPTA work stoppage. C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Thursday, June 4, 1998, were reported and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: STATED MEETING __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter