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.

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.

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.

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.

The union representing mailers at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News overwhelmingly approved a new two-year labor contract with Interstate General Media L.L.C. Sunday, a company official said. The union representing paper handlers, however, rejected a tentative agreement on Friday. The handlers are scheduled for another vote Monday. Interstate General Media, parent company of The Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com, reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Thursday with the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, largest of its 11 unions, a key step in the company's efforts to return to profitability.

Flight attendants for Air Wisconsin, which operates as a US Airways Express carrier at Philadelphia International Airport, ratified a new labor contract with the airline Thursday, according to the union that represents the 300 flight attendants. Terms of the four-year pact were not disclosed, but the union said it included "increased compensation and improvements to scheduling and quality of life issues. " From hubs in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Raleigh, N.C., and Norfolk, Va., Air Wisconsin operates nearly 500 daily flights as US Airways Express, serving 70 cities in the United States and Canada.

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.

MEMBERS of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia on Thursday night approved a new two-year labor contract with the owners of the Daily News , Inquirer and Philly.com. The deal with Interstate General Media LLC includes a 2.5 percent across-the-board wage cut but assures that the company will continue to publish both papers for at least the next two years. The vote was 200- 35. The ratification meeting was held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 11th and Arch streets, but many of the Guild's 550 members voted by email.

The union representing mailers at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News overwhelmingly approved a new two-year labor contract with Interstate General Media L.L.C. Sunday, a company official said. The union representing paper handlers, however, rejected a tentative agreement on Friday. The handlers are scheduled for another vote Monday. Interstate General Media, parent company of The Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com, reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Thursday with the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, largest of its 11 unions, a key step in the company's efforts to return to profitability.

Stagehands at the Philadelphia Theatre Company ratified their first labor contract Friday, ending a 15-day strike that disrupted the theater's run of The Mountaintop . The 27 members of Local 8 of the International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees approved a three-year deal that gives them raises and contributions to health and welfare benefits, and commits in a written contract to past labor practices at the Suzanne Roberts Theater...

The Teamsters local at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News overwhelmingly approved a new two-year labor contract with Interstate General Media that allows for continued publication of the two newspapers, the head of the union, John Laigaie, said Sunday night. Without giving an exact count, Laigaie estimated 98 percent of the members who voted Sunday approved the contract. Local 628, based in Montgomery County, represents about 300 truck drivers, security officers, building service employees, and others.

In the Region Toll Bros. settles claims Toll Bros. Inc. officials agreed to a $16.2 million settlement of claims that they misled shareholders about the Horsham company's prospects while selling stock worth about $615 million, according to court filings. The accord resolves investor claims that executives of the U.S. luxury-home builder wrongfully issued bullish forecasts in the face of falling demand in fiscal 2006 and 2007, according to a filing in Delaware Chancery Court. Investors also alleged in a 2008 complaint that directors, including co-founders Bruce E. Toll and Robert I. Toll, sold shares at inflated prices because of the forecasts.

Up in arms over a cost-cutting plan by two Chester County townships to get rid of their joint police department, the police officers' union said Tuesday it would file an unfair labor practice complaint with the state. Saying that East Goshen and Westtown Townships have failed to bargain in good faith, union attorney Joseph Chupein called their conduct "unlawful" and said the union would consider "additional legal action. " In announcing the plan Monday, the supervisors said the current labor contract with the Westtown-East Goshen Police Association, which expires next year, was "unsustainable.

N EARLY THREE weeks after the shooting death of Police Officer Moses Walker Jr., the city has determined that the slain cop was on duty at the time and that it will pay a portion of the funeral costs plus benefits. Walker was not in uniform when he was gunned down on a North Philly street moments after finishing a shift at the 22nd District on Aug. 18. John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, argued that Walker had been on duty, adding that Walker pulled his gun on his assailant.

There was a meeting of phenoms past and present Monday when Los Angeles Angels rookie star Mike Trout met Al Kaline, the Hall of Famer who played for the Detroit Tigers and won a batting title in 1955 when he was 20 years old. Millville, N.J.'s Trout, who will turn 21 next month, won't beat Kaline's mark, but he does have a shot at winning the batting title. He raised his American League-leading average to .355 on Tuesday night with the fourth four-hit game of his spectacular debut season, including a 430-foot homer in the second inning as the Halos demolished the Tigers, 13-0.

Flight attendants for Air Wisconsin, which operates as a US Airways Express carrier at Philadelphia International Airport, ratified a new labor contract with the airline Thursday, according to the union that represents the 300 flight attendants. Terms of the four-year pact were not disclosed, but the union said it included "increased compensation and improvements to scheduling and quality of life issues. " From hubs in Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Raleigh, N.C., and Norfolk, Va., Air Wisconsin operates nearly 500 daily flights as US Airways Express, serving 70 cities in the United States and Canada.

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.