From Inky: A new contract for Philadelphia’s police union gives cops significant raises — changes that advocates for stronger police accountability quickly condemned as inadequate

Katia Pérez, mass liberation organizer with the progressive group Reclaim Philadelphia, said the deal didn’t do enough to bring change to a scandal-plagued agency. Her group and other activist organizations have called for stricter disciplinary measures, reducing the size of the force, and reallocating police spending toward other services.

“I see the small wins, but there’s a lot more work to do,” she said.

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Reclaim Philadelphia FOP contract statement

On September 14th, the City of Philadelphia and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) announced that an agreement on a three year contract had been reached. In many ways, this negotiation was a historic first. For the first time in Philadelphia and nationally, public testimony was part of the contract process. This was a critical step towards increased transparency and greater community involvement. It is important that those who are most affected by police violence and misconduct be part of the negotiations.

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Sixty Six Wards blog recently did a deep dive into the Common Pleas elections from the last primary.

We know whether or not we have a progressive DA like Larry Krasner doesn’t matter much when judges block many of the reforms our movement is calling for. That’s why since 2017, we started working to not only identify leftist judges but also educate voters about the stakes in these much ignored local elections.

The Sixty-Six Wars blog recently did a deep dive into the Common Pleas elections from the last primary. What the data shows is YES it’s worth it, we are changing how voters look at these races, and we are building a movement that understands justice must be built around community care not the status quo of incarceration.

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Check out our work on the Reclaim The Budget! Campaign in our recent feature in Teen Vogue

“After Philadelphia activists successfully prevented a $19 million increase in police funding during the city’s 2020 budget cycle, they geared up for an even more ambitious fight in 2021. Activists from community organization Reclaim Philly launched the Reclaim the Budget! initiative around three main objectives: eliminating increases to the police budget, raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest to provide city revenue, and adopting a visionary 10-year budgetary plan for Philadelphia.”

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Opinion: The FOP Contract and How the Police Do Not Keep Us Safe

"Since 2013, only 2% of community member formal complaints against Philly police have resulted in a guilty finding, and 70% of those guilty verdicts were reduced or overturned after binding arbitration." It's about time arbitrators heard from community members. "We cannot allow the FOP to dictate our future. Let this be the moment where our city negotiates for us. We deserve it, and our lives depend on it."

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