Occupy Philly protesters took over a City Council meeting Thursday afternoon.
A group interrupted Council’s agenda by shouting out against the stricter curfew bill, which passed three weeks ago. Some lawmakers left or scrambled to safer positions in the room and though Civil Affairs officers closed in on the protesters, they did not take action against them.
When Council tried to call the session back to order, the Occupiers called a “People’s City Council” with its own agenda.
They loudly voted to repeal the curfew, pass the proposed measure banning employers to take a portion of credit card fees from employees’ tips and let the Occupy Philly camp stay at Dilworth Plaza — and then marched out.
“We came through the proper channels to speak to the legislators and they ignored us,” protester Adan Diaz said, adding that Brown offered to meet with dissenters, but her office ignored the group’s efforts to schedule the meeting.
“In particular, today, I found it strange that they focused on the curfew when we passed many aggressive issues this week, including tax reform, which they didn’t address,” Councilman Wilson Goode Jr. said. “They haven’t even taken on the issue of Dilworth Plaza itself. Did they ask for jobs for Philadelphia workers?”
