Lawmakers set to debate protections for building workers in office-to-residential conversions | Council roundup

A contentious fight over a bill that pits building services workers against the real estate industry has returned to City Council following an attempt by then-Mayor Jim Kenney to kill the proposal in the waning days of his administration last year.

Purple-clad members of the union SEIU Local 32BJ marched into City Hall on Thursday to support Councilmember Jimmy Harrity as he re-introduced the legislation, which seeks to protect the jobs of workers during office-to-residential conversions.

Representatives of the real estate industry oppose the bill, saying it would make it harder to find new uses for struggling office buildings downtown.

Harrity’s legislation requires that if a building were sold or converted to a new use, owners and their contractors would have to re-hire some of the previously employed workers based on seniority. If a building changed hands, all covered service workers who were necessary for operations would have to be retained for a 90-day period and could not be terminated without just cause.

If only a smaller workforce were needed after that period, the new contractor would have to retain workers based on seniority, rather than hire new subcontracted workers. The legislation would apply to any building larger than 50,000 square feet or with more than 50 residential units.

Council approved a previous version of the bill in its last meeting of 2023, but Kenney quietly killed it through a pocket veto. Harrity’s re-introduction of the bill Thursday sets the table for a second showdown.

» READ MORE: Ex-Mayor Jim Kenney quietly killed a 15-cent fee on paper bags and three other Council bills before leaving office

“Center City is changing, and we’re just saying we want to be part of the new Center City,” said Daisy Cruz, a Philadelphia-based leader with 32BJ. “You’re not going to save money off of the backs of working Philadelphians.”

Given that residential buildings employ substantially fewer guards and cleaners than offices, Harrity said, he does not believe the bill would add much to the cost of conversion.

“We all know that when they switch over [the need for workers] is going to go down,” said Harrity. “If they’re switching over, they’re switching over for a reason. The fact that they have to hire three of the senior people that have been there won’t hinder them.”

The real estate industry argues that the bill robs business owners of their ability to make their own staffing decisions, and that it may be unconstitutional.

“SEIU is trying to legislate collective bargaining,” said Will Carter, vice president of local government affairs with the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia. “If Philadelphia is known as a city where, at any moment, SEIU can dictate what happens with your business, then people are going to not want to come here and start businesses.”

Plate-flipping out: Councilmember Mike Driscoll introduced a bill that adds a $2,000 fine for license plate-flipping devices, which rotate in a second tag at the push of a button to prevent a car from being identified.

“It’s designed, built, and used by people to conceal their identity,” Driscoll said. “Tag-flippers could be used by someone fleeing the scene of an accident. ... The tag-flipper prevents a family from finding solace in the arrest and conviction” of a loved one’s killer, he said.

Those devices are already illegal in Pennsylvania. But Driscoll said the added punishment is needed because they have become more common.

The fine would apply to anyone caught making, selling, installing, or using the devices.

It’s official: Council approved a resolution creating the Kensington Caucus, a group of four lawmakers who have vowed to help the city crack down on the neighborhood’s infamous open-air drug market.

Their tough-on-crime approach to Kensington aligns with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s, and they are likely to be highly visible defenders of police action in the neighborhood over the next year. Even before Thursday’s vote, they announced their support for a triage center where drug users can be taken to access services or potentially be arrested.

» READ MORE: Philly City Council members are pushing for a Kensington ‘triage center’ for people who use drugs

The caucus is chaired by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, whose 7th District includes most of Kensington. It also includes Driscoll and Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose districts include parts of Kensington, and Harrity, an at-large member who lives in the neighborhood.

“The next few years will be difficult, and the optics of it will be more difficult,” Lozada said Thursday. “But we should ask ourselves, ‘Should our children be seeing [drug users] every day, or is it better for them to see an increase of police presence? Is it safer for them to walk by this everyday, or is it safer for them to walk by individuals who are there to ensure their safety?”

Driscoll, another caucus member, said, “I echo Councilmember Lozada’s call to arms.”

It’s tax season: Councilmember Rue Landau introduced a bill that would regulate paid tax preparation services and increase awareness of options to get tax returns prepared for free.

The bill requires tax preparers to register with the city, to advise their customers about no-cost options, and to provide them with a detailed explanation of the costs of their services.

“Each tax season, too many Philadelphians, especially those eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, shell out too much money for commercial tax prep services unaware of free alternatives,” Landau said in a statement. “Our push for transparent fee disclosure is a small but important step to help ensure more money stays where it belongs — in the pockets of low and moderate-income families. It’s about empowerment and informed decisions.”

Violating those rules will result in fines of $500 for each infraction, and gives customers the right to sue tax preparers who run afoul of the rules.

Harrity, who is in recovery from alcoholism, on Thursday gave a speech implicitly defending policies that force people to quit drugs.

That stance is likely to prove controversial as the city attempts to end the drug trade in Kensington, as some advocates are against forced treatment. Harrity appeared to be responding to critics of the triage center for drug users that he and other members of the new Kensington caucus proposed last week.

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.