Philadelphia’s municipal workers union enters its sixth day of a citywide strike on Sunday, following a holiday weekend of scaled-back July 4th celebrations.
The Wawa Welcome America concert and fireworks show was held on Friday, however, headliner and hip-hop legend LL Cool J dropped out the day before he was set to perform, showing solidarity with AFSCME District Council 33 members currently on strike.
“There’s absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line, and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage. I’m not doing that,” LL Cool J said in a video posted to Instagram.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said she spoke with LL Cool J personally, and respects his decision.
“I understand his desire to see the city unified,” Parker said in a statement late Thursday night. “He is always welcome in Philadelphia.”
A day after LL Cool J dropped out of the show, fellow headliner and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan, a Philadelphia native, announced she was also skipping the performance.
“In this life we are only measured by how we uphold our morals and standards, by what we choose to fight for through participation or protest,” Sullivan wrote on an Instagram story. “Today I choose to not perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert and stand with Philly’s DC 33 until the city and union find a way to bring fair living wages to our working class. I love my city and I believe in you. Hopefully we will get to celebrate when things are better.”
R&B artist JoJo and rapper Álvaro Díaz performed as planned outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The concert was followed by the annual fireworks display over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Contract talks stall
About 9,000 AFSCME District Council 33 members walked off the job on July 1, when a contract agreement was not reached with Parker’s administration.
City officials are working to maintain essential services despite the work stoppage, and hundreds of DC 33 members have been ordered to return to their jobs, after attorneys for the Parker administration successfully filed for preliminary injunctions in court last week.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that the absence of 237 police and fire dispatchers and 72 Philadelphia Water Department employees posed a public health and safety risk. The PWD staff works at the city’s water treatment plants. Officials stressed that the city’s drinking water remains safe.
The City received another court order to address staffing issues at the Medical Examiner’s Office, which is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death for sudden, unexpected, and unnatural deaths. On Thursday, a Common Pleas Court judge ordered 31 employees from the Medical Examiner’s Office to return to work.
Overflowing trash, frustration grows
Trash continues to pile up across the city’s 63 neighborhood designated drop-off sites, and heaps of trash can be found littering surrounding streets.
Mounds of black bags and other refuse surrounded two Waste Management dumpsters at Shady Lane and Pine Road in Fox Chase last week. Although only bagged household trash is permitted, tires, wooden tables and other items had been placed along the road’s shoulder.
“I think it’s actually a disgrace, but what else am I going to do? My whole neighborhood is lined up with trash right now,” Steve Martin, a nearby resident, told Metro. “It looks horrible.”
Sanitation Commissioner Crystal Jacobs Shipman said dumpsters are being hauled out and replaced multiple times a day, though private vendors may be delayed due to traffic, tight streets and limited parking.
A list of trash drop-off sites can be found at phila.gov/sanitation or by calling 311.
Refuse fires amid strike tensions
Over the holiday weekend, the Philadelphia Police Department received multiple reports of refuse fires at trash collection sites. No injures were reported, and the fires were extinguished without significant damage, according to Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson.
“We want to be clear: this is a serious matter,” Thompson and Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said in a joint statement. “While the exact cause of these fires remains under investigation, we recognize the heightened tensions surrounding the ongoing work stoppage. If it is determined that any of these fires were intentionally set, such acts will be treated as serious crimes.
“The Philadelphia Police Department is conducting a full investigation into each incident, along with the additional support of our federal partners on the ATF Task Force. Anyone who is caught starting one of these fires will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Essential services continue with limitations
The city’s 911 Call Center is operating, and emergency calls are being answered and dispatched, Parker said, although there may be long wait times.
Limited Free Library locations will be open on Monday. Some entrances have been blocked by picketing District Council 33 members; however, police have been clearing the areas, and say it is safe to enter and exit. An updated list of which branches will be open can be found online.
There are currently 25 public pools open across the city; local rec centers are operating on a limited schedule.
“I am incredibly grateful for the dedication of our City employees who have jumped in to do what they can to ensure delivery of essential services,” said city Managing Director Adam K. Thiel. “It hasn’t been easy, and we are not perfect. So far, we have been doing a great job – even over the July 4th holiday weekend.”
Reporter Jack Tomczuk contributed to this report.
