Changing Skyline: Big changes for an overlooked pocket of Center City

Tucked between the Convention Center and the Vine Street Expressway is a patch of Center City that time and development forgot. Its blocks are veined with cobbled alleys whose names have almost disappeared from the Philadelphia map: Watts, Florist, Clarion, Spring. In contrast to the snoozy monoculture that is the Convention Center, the little enclave is packed with humming workshops and rowhouses.

Senate OKs renaming 30th Street Station for Gray

WASHINGTON - The plan to rename 30th Street Station for former Philadelphia U.S. Rep. Bill Gray is heading to President Obama for his signature.

The Senate, in one of its final acts before a five-week recess, late Thursday approved a bill to rename the station "William H. Gray III 30th Street Station." The Senate approval, by unanimous consent, was confirmed by Senate Democrats' Twitter feed Thursday night, hours after the Senate had concluded its formal voting and left for its August break.

NLRB dismisses 2 complaints against union's leaders

GMCS Editorial:  As the NLRB has no jurisdiction over this matter, the dismissal of these charges is to be expected.  We anticipate that these charges will be filed and heard by the PLRB which has jurisdiction over this case.

Saying it had no jurisdiction to handle the case, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed two complaints filed by members of Teamsters Local 107 against their union leaders, accusing them of failing to protect their work at the Convention Center.

Nutter, FOP reach new deal

MAYOR NUTTER and the city's police union announced yesterday that they are accepting a three-year contract arbitration award that includes a series of raises totaling 9.5 percent and has no cuts in pension or health-care benefits for the city's roughly 6,000 police officers.

The award will cost the city $218 million in its five-year financial plan - about $97 million more than was anticipated.

McDonald’s Ruling Could Open Door for Unions

The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Tuesday that McDonald’s could be held jointly liable for labor and wage violations by its franchise operators — a decision that, if upheld, would disrupt longtime practices in the fast-food industry and ease the way for unionizing nationwide.

Business groups called the decision outrageous. Some legal experts described it as a far-reaching move that could signal the labor board’s willingness to hold many other companies to the same standard of “joint employer,” making businesses that use subcontractors or temp agencies at least partly liable in cases of overtime, wage or union-organizing violations.

Carpenters post protest video on YouTube

Members of the Philadelphia Carpenters Union posted a seven-minute video to YouTube.com Thursday, championing their fight against the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

"We produced it to show what's been going on outside the convention center on and off for the last three months," said Martin O'Rourke, spokesman for Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. "It's been harmful and not good for anybody. It's unfair."

New Jersey Considers Mold Certification

The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill that would establish a certification program for mold inspectors and mold hazard abatement workers. The bill also requires procedures for inspection and abatement of mold hazards in residential buildings and school facilities.

The New Jersey Senate Environment Committee approved the bill July 21. “We have people who represent themselves as experts – there’s no training, there’s not certification, there’s not standards,” Sen. Bob Smith, chairman of the panel, said during the committee meeting.

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Released the "The Roadmap for Growth for the City of Philadelphia: 2015-2020" Report

Philadelphia’s Population — After Decades of Decline, An Up ward Trend The population of Philadelphia declined steadily for over 50 years. From 1975 to 2006, the city experienced a net loss of residents reaching its lowest population point in 2006 of slightly more than 1.4 million residents. Since 2006, however, this population decline has reversed, and the population has grown by 4.6% to reach 1,553,165 residents in 2013.