Talks resumed Wednesday afternoon between Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration and AFSCME District Council 33, on the second day of a strike that has canceled trash collection and hindered city services.
The negotiations are the first meeting between the sides since about 9,000 DC 33 members walked off the job when a contract agreement was not reached Monday night.
Parker’s team has been offering an 8% raise over three years, in addition to a recent 5% bump workers received late last year. Union leadership has reportedly been willing to accept a 5% yearly increase.
Other issues, surrounding benefits, working conditions and the city’s residency requirement, have also been discussed.
Court orders
More than 300 DC 33 members have been ordered to return to their jobs, after attorneys for the Parker administration successfully filed for preliminary injunctions in court.
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.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel had pulled officers off the street for the 911 call center and consolidated the number of radio bands used, raising concerns from the officers’ union.
A third court order mandates that DC 33 members not occupy city facilities or block entrances. Picketers must remain at least 10 feet from doors, and no more than eight can demonstrate at a single location, a judge ruled. Violators could be held in contempt of court.
City Solicitor Renee Garcia said there were “numerous reports” of noncompliance Wednesday. Locks were jammed at city-run health centers; strikers shut off water to a building from the outside and parked a vehicle over the valve; and picketers broke into a sanitation facility and threw garbage from compactors and dumpsters onto the ground, she alleged.
“We’re beyond disrespect. This is disgraceful,” Garcia said at a Wednesday afternoon Parker administration press briefing. “It is illegal, and it needs to stop now.”
Bethel said he has formed a team with Sheriff Rochelle Bilal to enforce the court injunctions.
DC 33 urged members to abide by the court orders, while indicating they may be subject to further litigation.
“By following these injunctions, we uphold the principles of lawful protest and demonstrate our commitment to responsible activism,” the union said Wednesday in a statement posted to social media.
Trash piles up
Mounds of black bags and other refuse surrounded two Waste Management dumpsters Wednesday at Shady Lane and Pine Road in Fox Chase.
The site is one of 63 drop-off locations established by the Parker administration for residents to bring their trash while curbside pickup is suspended.
Flies swirled in the humidity as residents added bags below a black “no dumping” sign. Although only bagged household trash is permitted, tires, wooden tables and other items had been placed along the road’s shoulder, which abuts a wooden area.
“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 as he stopped by. “It looks horrible.”
While the sites are supposed to be manned by non-DC 33 staff, no one was present along Shady Lane at around 2:30 p.m., leaving residents with the option of tossing bags themselves over the sides of the containers, some which exceed 6 feet tall.
Folks began double-parking near the busy intersection to drop off garbage, as rubbish blocked much of the roadside. Some bags edged dangerously close to the traffic lane, and others stretched toward an adjacent house.
“Unbelievable,” one man remarked. “Of all places to pick, you can’t pull over.”
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.
Overflow piles are being addressed separately, and she said her department may consider relocating the sites as needed.
A list can be found at phila.gov/sanitation or by calling 311.
Striker charged
Authorities charged a 59-year-old man Wednesday for activities related to the ongoing work stoppage.
Carnell Wilder is accused of approaching a Philadelphia Gas Works employee who was operating a digger and asking, “Why aren’t you striking?” He punctured the vehicle’s tire with a knife, deflating it and injuring himself in the process, according to police.
The exchange occurred just before 8:45 a.m. Tuesday on the 3900 block of Ford Road in the Wynnefield Heights neighborhood, investigators said.
Wilder was charged with possessing an instrument of crime, criminal mischief and institutional vandalism. He was released on unsecured bond, and the public defender’s association, which is representing him, declined to comment.
City records from 2024 indicate that Wilder is a DC 33 member and heavy equipment operator for the Department of Parker and Recreation.
A PGW spokesperson confirmed that DC 33 does not represent any of the utility company’s employees.
