It is a political rite of passage and every new mayor confronts it – negotiating contracts with Philadelphia’s four municipal unions just months after taking office.

Ed Rendell used chaos to his advantage in 1992. With the city’s finances collapsing, Rendell swung a deal that froze wages while cutting holidays, some starting salaries and contributions to union health-care plans.

John Street faced a stronger economy in 2000 and unions holding a serious bargaining chip – the Republican National Convention was due to start just after the contracts expired and a strike would draw national attention. The unions got increases in wages and health benefits.  read more »

Reversing a decades-long downward trend, the percentage of the American workforce in unions edged up last year, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

The change was minuscule – a tenth of 1 percentage point, from 12.0 to 12.1 – barely statistically significant. But for the labor movement, which is starved for any good news, even the tiniest upward blip is cause for encouragement.

Locally, Pennsylvania and Delaware saw gains in union membership and density.

New Jersey’s membership continued to slip despite big union wins among dealers in Atlantic City’s casinos and among professional and administrative staff at Rutgers University.  read more »