Labor Contract

The city and the union that represents Philadelphia's white-collar government workers agreed yesterday to extend their labor contract by a month as negotiators work out a new agreement. The contract covering the 3,400 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' District 47 expired July 1. A previous agreement extended it through today; yesterday's agreement leaves the contract in place through Aug. 15. "We made a lot of progress in the noneconomic areas," such as work rules, District Council 47 president Thomas Paine Cronin said of the negotiations to date.

The NFL's labor situation could get more complicated this week. The league's owners meet today in Atlanta and could vote to opt out of the labor contract. Such a move could signal a protracted period of labor tension and lead to a 2010 season without a salary cap and a potential work stoppage the following year. The owners have until Nov. 8 to terminate the contract. Some would prefer to do so now and hasten the way for talks toward a new agreement to replace the 2-year-old contract that most owners feel has tilted too far toward the players, who get 60 percent of total revenues.

A federal judge yesterday cleared the way for After Six Inc. to sell its assets to a Baltimore company and close its Philadelphia tuxedo factory. The sale is scheduled to take place today. The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, which represents more than 400 After Six workers, had sought a court injunction to block the sale until an arbitrator could rule on whether it would violate the union's contract. The union argued that the sale would violate its contract, which it said barred relocation.

Union workers remained on the job at the Philadelphia Gas Works early today even though they failed to beat a midnight deadline for reaching a new contract with the utility. Talks were suspended about 10:30 last night when negotiators realized they would not reach an agreement by midnight. The two sides will meet today to discuss future negotiations. PGW, which employs 1,785 people, was reluctant to grant a second contract extension to Gas Works Employees Union Local 686, which represents 1,345 workers at the city-owned utility.

The head of the Burlington County Board of Social Services has been placed on paid leave pending the investigation of a complaint by an employee that he got rough with her during a labor-contract protest. The action against director Daniel Boas was taken after Daphne Ball filed a harassment complaint with Westampton police on Aug. 12, county officials said. The complaint stems from a confrontation on that date at the county human services facility on Woodlane Road in Mount Holly.

The board of the Delaware River Port Authority on Wednesday approved the appointment of a new chief lawyer for the agency. The board also heard a plea from the DRPA police force for a new labor contract but took no action to resume stalled negotiations. Danielle McNichol, former counsel to the chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, was named general counsel, replacing Richard Brown, who has been at the DRPA for 22 years. McNichol, 43, of Glen Mills, is well-connected in Pennsylvania Republican circles, as the wife of lobbyist John McNichol Jr. and daughter-in-law of longtime Delaware County GOP power broker John McNichol, who died in January.

The Union and 6ABC announced a 3-year broadcast partnership to air an as-yet undetermined number of games. The full Major League Soccer schedule has not been released, but a joint statement from the Union and 6ABC said that as many games as possible will air live on the station, with all games rebroadcast on 6ABC's digital channel. Union president Tom Veit said that midweek games likely would appear on ESPN or the digital channel and that weekend games likely would air on 6ABC.

The NBA and its players union had a "cordial" meeting yesterday and agreed to resume negotiations toward a new labor contract next week, league spokesman Tim Andree said. The two-hour session in New York marked the first face-to-face bargaining since the league on May 18 said it was breaking off talks because the union reversed its position on several previously agreed-upon issues, including the reduction in the length of contracts and an age limit. The labor contract expires July 1. Billy Hunter, executive director of the union, said he spent yesterday's session trying to explain the players' most recent proposal.

The last of the labor unions at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News ratified a new labor contract last night, ending months of often tense negotiations. The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, which represents advertising, news, circulation and finance workers, voted 498-69 to approve a contract that called for union concessions on seniority, hiring pay, and the pension plan. Publisher Brian Tierney thanked union negotiators and members for "this expression of support for where we together wanted to take this company" and said he was "fully conscious of the responsibility that we have [going]

You know times are bad when even the New York Yankees say they have to cut payroll. Under the new labor contract, the luxury tax threshold will be $189 million after the 2013 season, and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday his goal is to be under it. This season's payroll is around $210 million, he said. "I don't think it's an unrealistic goal," he said. "My goals are normally considered a requirement," he added - we think to make sure people know he's the boss.

The board of the Delaware River Port Authority on Wednesday approved the appointment of a new chief lawyer for the agency. The board also heard a plea from the DRPA police force for a new labor contract but took no action to resume stalled negotiations. Danielle McNichol, former counsel to the chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, was named general counsel, replacing Richard Brown, who has been at the DRPA for 22 years. McNichol, 43, of Glen Mills, is well-connected in Pennsylvania Republican circles, as the wife of lobbyist John McNichol Jr. and daughter-in-law of longtime Delaware County GOP power broker John McNichol, who died in January.

You know times are bad when even the New York Yankees say they have to cut payroll. Under the new labor contract, the luxury tax threshold will be $189 million after the 2013 season, and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday his goal is to be under it. This season's payroll is around $210 million, he said. "I don't think it's an unrealistic goal," he said. "My goals are normally considered a requirement," he added - we think to make sure people know he's the boss.

The Union and 6ABC announced a 3-year broadcast partnership to air an as-yet undetermined number of games. The full Major League Soccer schedule has not been released, but a joint statement from the Union and 6ABC said that as many games as possible will air live on the station, with all games rebroadcast on 6ABC's digital channel. Union president Tom Veit said that midweek games likely would appear on ESPN or the digital channel and that weekend games likely would air on 6ABC.

EVEN MICHAEL NUTTER'S biggest fans worried when he became mayor that the pending contract negotiations for the police, fire and blue- and white-collar unions would be a crucible for his administration. Many worried that not only would this be his biggest test, but that a fractious process and a potential strike would be an early buzz-killer for a city newly infused with hope. Yet here we are, a few short weeks after the contracts expired, with largest two of the four unions reaching agreement.

The NFL's labor situation could get more complicated this week. The league's owners meet today in Atlanta and could vote to opt out of the labor contract. Such a move could signal a protracted period of labor tension and lead to a 2010 season without a salary cap and a potential work stoppage the following year. The owners have until Nov. 8 to terminate the contract. Some would prefer to do so now and hasten the way for talks toward a new agreement to replace the 2-year-old contract that most owners feel has tilted too far toward the players, who get 60 percent of total revenues.

The last of the labor unions at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News ratified a new labor contract last night, ending months of often tense negotiations. The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, which represents advertising, news, circulation and finance workers, voted 498-69 to approve a contract that called for union concessions on seniority, hiring pay, and the pension plan. Publisher Brian Tierney thanked union negotiators and members for "this expression of support for where we together wanted to take this company" and said he was "fully conscious of the responsibility that we have [going]

H. Thomas Felix II, 72, of Haverford, a lawyer who negotiated labor contracts for Philadelphia and the state, died of lung cancer Tuesday at home. Mr. Felix negotiated contracts under six Philadelphia mayors, starting with James Tate's administration in the 1970s. He helped end trash strikes during the Frank Rizzo and W. Wilson Goode administrations and negotiated several contracts without strikes for the Philadelphia School District. Gov. Rendell said that in 1992, when he was mayor of Philadelphia, Mr. Felix helped save the city from bankruptcy.

By a mere seven votes, the city's subway and bus workers yesterday rejected a labor contract that had been reached after a strike that threw the city into turmoil for three days just before Christmas. Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged both sides to resume negotiations. The vote - 11,227 for and 11,234 against - was a stunning reversal for both the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which had reached agreement Dec. 27 through mediation.

The NBA and its players union had a "cordial" meeting yesterday and agreed to resume negotiations toward a new labor contract next week, league spokesman Tim Andree said. The two-hour session in New York marked the first face-to-face bargaining since the league on May 18 said it was breaking off talks because the union reversed its position on several previously agreed-upon issues, including the reduction in the length of contracts and an age limit. The labor contract expires July 1. Billy Hunter, executive director of the union, said he spent yesterday's session trying to explain the players' most recent proposal.

Temple University and its faculty union have tentatively agreed on a new four-year contract that would transform the faculty-administration relationship, a critical step in president David Adamany's bid to make the institution one of the nation's top research universities. "Everything we're doing at Temple is to ensure Temple's status as a national university improves," Adamany said. A university's reputation depends on "faculty personnel policies that encourage and ensure excellence in the faculty.