Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker starts bringing all city employees back to office

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Office buildings in Center City are starting to fill up again as more companies are mandating a return to in-person work.

Now, Philadelphia's new mayor, Cherelle Parker, is doing the same.

Monday was the first step in the process of bringing all city employees back to the office.

It's a return to full-time, in-person work for some Philadelphia city employees as 71 top city workers go back to the office.

They are people who report directly to the mayor, cabinet members, commissioners, directors and deputy directors.

Mayor Parker says the goal is to eventually bring all 25,000 municipal workers in Philadelphia back to the office.

"You need something else to do besides being home. You need to change the environment itself, so I understand why she wants them to go back," said Jacqueline Carr, from West Philadelphia.

Mayor Parker says this is all part of a plan to see a thriving downtown.

She wants more people walking around the city, shopping at stores and strengthening the economy.

According to the 6abc data journalism team, the average volume of people in Center City is now at 372,000 a day. That's about 83% of pre-pandemic levels.

Data also shows that as of November 2023, there were more than 97,000 workers in Center City every day, which is 73% of pre-pandemic levels.

"I think she wants to revitalize Center City and bring more business back to Center City, but I think it takes away from businesses in the other neighborhoods," said Bebin Abraham, of Northeast Philadelphia.

In nearby Old City, one restaurant said they're excited about the mayor's plan and what it could mean for their neighborhood.

"It's amazing to see because that's more business for us," said Isabel Heller, the manager of an Old City restaurant. "More people on the street just means more for us -- more word of mouth, and it can only be a good thing not just for us but for everybody on the block."

However, not everyone is on board with the plan.

AFSCME District Council 47, which represents thousands of city workers, is advocating for city employees to continue to have the option to utilize a hybrid work schedule.

In a statement, President April Gigetts said, "There is no one-size-fits-all solution that allows our government to function 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mobile technologies have improved the quality and delivery of public services."

Gigetts added, "Maintaining this flexibility in how we work allows city services to be delivered faster, without necessary limitations or delays."