Trash pickup and a host of other city services were disrupted Tuesday when about 9,000 municipal workers affiliated with AFSCME District Council 33 went on strike in search of better pay and benefits from Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration.
In addition to sanitation staff, DC 33 represents employees from the city’s 911 dispatch center, the Philadelphia Water Department, the Department of Public Health and other municipal agencies. The strike is the union’s first since 1986.
“I’m tired of our men and women being effectively the working poor of the city of Philadelphia,” DC 33 President Greg Boulware said early Tuesday morning in a video posted to the union’s social media pages. “They deserve more than that. They need more than that.”
Parker, during a Tuesday afternoon press briefing, said the city put “its best offer on the table.” Her team’s proposal incorporated a 13% pay raise during her first term, which includes a 5% increase that was part of a one-year contract adopted late last year.
In addition, the city’s negotiators have put forth expanding DC 33’s pay scale to add a “fifth step” at the top of the salary range.
The H.O.M.E. initiative – Parker’s ambitious plan to create or restore 30,000 units of affordable housing – was also part of the talks, she said. She touted the various housing programs, saying they were “designed with District Council 33 members in mind.”
Boulware declined to speak to Metro Tuesday afternoon. In the clip posted online, he asserted that 2% or 3% annual salary bumps are not enough to keep up with rising costs.
“We’re going to stand pat until we get a raise and wages that meet the demands for what is required to live in the city of Philadelphia,” he added.
The Inquirer reported that DC 33’s final offer Monday night was 5% annual raises. Members earn an average of $46,000 a year, according to the union.
“We want DC 33 to come back and accept this fair and fiscally responsible offer,” said city Managing Director Adam Thiel, one of Parker’s top deputies.
Emergency services under strain
Thiel stressed that 911 calls are being answered and that tap water is safe to drink.
Nevertheless, Parker administration attorneys have asked a court to order back critical water department staff and emergency dispatchers. A judge issued a temporary one-week restraining order to bring 911 call center employees off the picket line, representatives from the city’s Law Department said.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel has been pulling patrol officers off the streets to man the phones. He also instituted 12-hour shifts to enhance force levels.
“We have a very, very complex dispatch system,” Bethel said Tuesday. “We’ve narrowed that down to make it very functional. We got through overnight. It continues to be a challenge, but the men and women are meeting that charge.”
Roosevelt Poplar, head of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, issued a letter to officers Tuesday encouraging them to “avoid unnecessary risk” during car and pedestrian stops due to the “limited training” provided to the makeshift dispatchers.
Tensions flare
City lawyers, additionally, filed a preliminary injunction requesting that a court bar striking DC 33 members from blocking entrances to municipal buildings.
Parker said vandals turned on fire hydrants on her block – and in areas across the city – as part of what she alleged was a coordinated attempt to lower Philadelphia’s water pressure. There have been reports that DC 33 members have prevented residents from accessing the city’s sanitation convenience centers.
“Nothing and/or no one will deter us from delivering city services to our residents during this work stoppage,” Parker said.
At the city’s 1515 Arch Street building, picketers physically blocked people from using the main entrance, leading to more than one tense exchange.
DC 33 members yelled “not this way” and “closed for business” when employees or members of the public approached. A contracted security guard typically led them to a side door.
“I want y’all to be smart because we had a couple of situations that got physical,” a union official who identified himself as a member of the negotiating team was overhead telling a group of strikers. He affirmed that the union could post bail money, adding, “But be smart.” He declined to speak with Metro, citing DC 33’s “gag order” regarding the press.
Those on the picket lines dealt with hot, humid conditions and occasion spurts of rain. Around lunchtime, dozens marched through LOVE Park chanting “no contract, no peace.”
Trash piles up across city
With curbside trash collection suspended, residents are being told to bring their garbage to one of 63 drop-off points across Philadelphia. A list is posted at phila.gov/sanitation. Recycling will not be accepted, and residents are only permitted to come on their designated trash pick-up days.
Nearly all of those locations were operational by Tuesday afternoon, officials said, though the administration still did not have access to the six sanitation convenience centers, where people can bring trash or recycling.
In a gravel lot at Market and Paxon streets in West Philadelphia, two dumpsters were set up. A participant in the city’s Future Track Program, to train up full-time municipal workers, helped neighbors heave bags into the containers.
“They should give them what they want and what they need,” Josie Taylor, of West Philadelphia, said as she pulled out of the site. “Trash people are important.”
“It’s the worst. We already have a problem with one day a week,” said Salem Alameri, a business owner along Market Street near 52nd Street. He gestured toward piles of garbage along Market, “It already smells bad.”
Tuesday is collection day in the surrounding neighborhood. And while garbage did not dot the curb of every home, it was clear a significant number of people did not get the news.
The strike also shuttered nearly all Free Library of Philadelphia branches Tuesday. Recreation centers, which typically remain open until 9 p.m. in the summer, were set to close at 5 p.m. About 25 of the city’s 60 public pools are anticipated to continue welcoming swimmers.
