No, Mayor Parker didn’t give herself ‘a 9% raise’ — but she did dole out big raises to aides
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker rejected a false claim from striking workers that she gave herself a 9% pay raise – although her pay has increased.
At rallies for AFSCME District Council 33’s striking workers, members say they’re not asking for anything more than Mayor Cherelle L. Parker gave herself: a healthy pay raise.
Members of the blue-collar municipal union have circulated images reading “9% for me, 2% for thee,” a reference to a claim that Parker gave herself a 9% pay raise while offering the union far less in early negotiations.
The claim has also taken hold on social media — but it’s not quite true, even if Parker’s pay and the mayor’s office’s spending on personnel has increased.
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The “9%” claim stems from former Mayor Jim Kenney’s 2023 salary of $240,347, which rose to $261,497 in the months before he left office — a roughly 9% increase.
Parker’s salary started in 2024 where Kenney’s ended, and while her salary has increased since then, the percentage increase is far less than claimed.
Parker now earns $269,708, a 3.1% increase over last year.
At a news conference on Monday, before the strike began, Parker without prompting knocked down the assertion she had given herself a large raise.
“I don’t know where this could come from, because it’s patently and blatantly just not true,” she said. “When I became your mayor, I started with the same exact salary that Mayor Kenney [had]. In July of 2024, there was an automatic COLA [cost-of-living adjustment].”
The City Charter actually caps elected officials’ ability to give themselves raises and sets a series of fixed pay rates for various officials. A 2003 City Council bill allowed these rates to be adjusted using a multiplier pegged to the consumer price index, a statistical estimate generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that accounts for the cost of living.
Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s administration unsuccessfully tested this rule in 2023 when her office attempted to more than double her own salary. She ultimately accepted a 5% cost-of-living adjustment instead.
Most elected officials in Philadelphia are, by law, entitled to regular cost-of-living increases that rank-and-file employees do not get, outside of contract negotiations.
Although Parker cannot increase her own salary, she has doled out substantial pay raises to her closest advisers — far beyond what DC 33 is seeking for workers who earn an average annual wage of $46,000.
Parker’s first budget, in 2024, expanded spending by the mayor’s office by 150%, with her average staffer receiving a 16% pay increase over the prior year.
Some realized far bigger pay increases as they assumed new roles under Parker. Managing Director Adam Thiel saw a 32% salary bump over his Kenney-era predecessor, to $310,000. Her chief of staff and communications director received 16% and 31% higher salaries, respectively.
The pattern has continued this year: A deputy communications director, a policy analyst, and executive assistants in the mayor’s office all received raises of 20% or more, compared with last year.
On Monday, Parker defended the raises while also musing about how much DC 33’s leadership is paid.
“I don’t know what the union leadership earns, but I know one thing: I have the best subject matter experts available to help me run this city.”
Union financial disclosures for 2024, the most recent year available, show former president Ernest Garrett earned $282,337, and former secretary-treasurer Francis Halbherr earned $328,928. Their salaries are paid out of union dues.
DC 33 president Greg Boulware did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.