DC33 Strike Frequently Asked Questions

Rizzo Rink, a facility run by the City of Philadelphia's Department of Recreation, is currently facing operational challenges. The rink is primarily staffed by AFSCME District Council 33 members, who are currently on strike.

To minimize the impact on working families and ensure essential services continue, the city has mandated that management only work during daytime hours. This allows Summer Day Care Camps and other daytime programs to proceed. Unfortunately, as a result of the strike and staffing limitations, all evening and adult programs are currently on hold.

We've looked into private indoor facilities, and the costs are substantial. At $300 per hour, it would amount to $1200 a week. The PBLA simply can't afford such a significant increase in expenses without every player agreeing to an additional fee.

Even if we could secure the funding, private facilities cannot accommodate our current Monday and Wednesday night schedule from 7 to 9 p.m. Most available slots are during off-peak hours, specifically Thursdays and Fridays, with average game times around 3-4 p.m. or 10-11 p.m.

We understand players have likely built their work or vacation schedules around the team's game times. We'll do our best to work with each team to find the most suitable make-up dates. However, even with our current Monday and Wednesday schedule, we've noticed that no team has consistently had a full roster for games.

Rizzo Rink management has offered to reserve all Friday nights for us and can even arrange for Saturday games. We're committed to keeping the season on track and avoiding conflicts with players' college or tournament schedules.

No. The city would never allow it, and crossing the picket line would severely damage our long-term relationship with the DC33 staff members. I wouldn't expect any favors from the staff if we did this and this could ultimately lead to us losing access to the facility entirely.

Our best course of action is to wait for both sides to settle this dispute. We'll then make up the dates, just as we would for a rain-out.

We'll keep you updated on game statuses through our Facebook and Instagram accounts. Please follow us there if you haven't already.

In addition, we'll continue to email all players and notify all team captains of the latest developments.

Please follow local Philadelphia News outlets for the latest in negotiations.

• https://6abc.com/
• https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/
• https://www.fox29.com/
• https://www.inquirer.com/