Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced Monday that all city workers will be expected to work from the office five days a week beginning July 15, effectively restoring pre-pandemic schedules for municipal employees.
Parker had signaled since taking office in January that she intended to require full-time in-person work. That marks a change from former Mayor Jim Kenney, who largely left hybrid arrangements to individual department heads. Parker has also urged the leaders of the city's largest employers to bring their staff back, partly to help Center City, where weekday foot traffic has not returned to 2019 levels.
At a news conference, Parker said about 80% of the city's 26,000 workers were already working in an office or on site. She argued that a full return would strengthen collaboration. "Employee presence at the workplace allows for more personal and productive interactions," she said, adding that it "facilitates communication" and promotes "social connections, along with collaboration, innovation, and inclusion."
Business and development advocates welcomed the move. Paul Levy, who chairs the board of the Center City District, said office workers downtown support retail, restaurants, SEPTA jobs, and the maintenance and support staff who keep buildings running. "Quite simply, remote work and inclusive growth are incompatible," he said.
City workers and their unions responded with sharp criticism. Leaders of AFSCME District Council 47, which represents many professional and supervisory employees, said the policy was imposed without negotiation. David Wilson, president of AFSCME Local 2187, said a summer start would disrupt parents who have built schedules around children's camp plans. He said the union met with the administration once and had another session set for Thursday, calling the decision to move ahead unilaterally "disheartening."
Parker said she does not believe an in-office mandate is subject to collective bargaining, and that the workforce was "at the center" of her decision. Chief administrative officer Camille Duchaussee told City Council last month that the city would negotiate with unions on added supports. On Monday she said the administration had already extended paid parental leave from six to eight weeks, made the Friday after Thanksgiving a holiday, and eased restrictions on using sick leave for family members.
Gennifer E. Reed, president of AFSCME Local 2186, warned the policy could trigger departures at a time when nearly a quarter of city jobs were vacant as of April. "The members are incensed," she said, adding that some who planned to wait to retire now want to do so immediately.
Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija sought to capitalize on the news, posting on X that the county allows hybrid work: "If you're an excellent public servant and you want to work from home sometimes, come to Montco."
Some labor leaders outside the city workforce backed the policy, including Ryan Boyer of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council and Gabe Morgan, a vice president of SEIU 32BJ. Both groups supported Parker's mayoral run last year.
After COVID-19 vaccines became available in 2021, Kenney's administration required only two days a week in the office, producing a patchwork of policies, with some employees in person just a few times a month. Parker campaigned on ending that and has framed the return as a matter of equity, since many city workers never had the chance to work from home. Nationally, about 10% of American workers are fully remote and another 10% are hybrid. "For the Parker administration, we are at war with the status quo right now," Parker said.
