Philadelphia City Workers Strike Disrupts Services, 911 Call Center Ordered Back

Nearly 10,000 city workers in Philadelphia initiated a strike on Tuesday, entering its second day on Wednesday. The strike, led by District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, aims to secure better pay and benefits for the workers. The strike has disrupted various city services, including residential trash collection, the operation of some city pools, and the hours of recreation centers. However, essential services such as police and firefighting remain unaffected.

In response to the strike, Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas-Street granted the city an injunction on Tuesday. This order mandates that 237 out of 325 workers at the city’s 911 call center must return to work immediately. The judge cited the "clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the public" as the reason for this decision. The order allows these workers to participate in the strike during their off-duty hours. Additionally, some water department workers were ordered back to ensure the continuous supply of fresh, clean drinking water to residents.

Mayor Cherelle Parker, a pro-labor Democrat, has assured the public that the city will continue to function despite the strike. She emphasized that the Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s birthplace would proceed as planned. The mayor stated that the city had presented its best offer, which includes raises totaling 13% over her four-year term, including a 5% increase from the previous year, and the addition of a fifth step to the pay scale to align with other city unions.

Union president Greg Boulware, however, argued that the city’s offer falls short of the wage increases the union is seeking. The union’s initial contract proposal requested 8% annual raises for each year of the three-year contract, along with cost-of-living adjustments and bonuses of up to $5,000 for those who worked through the pandemic. The union also demanded that the city cover the full cost of employee health care, amounting to $1,700 per person per month.

The strike in Philadelphia is not an isolated incident. In Massachusetts, trash collection services were disrupted in more than a dozen towns on Tuesday as 400 waste collection workers went on strike ahead of the July 4 holiday. The contract between the waste removal company and Teamsters Local 25 union expired on Monday night, with workers pushing for better wages, benefits, working conditions, and paid time off.

This strike in Philadelphia echoes a previous trash strike in the summer of 1986, which left the city without trash pickup for three weeks, resulting in trash piling up on streets, alleyways, and drop-off sites. The current strike highlights the ongoing negotiations between city workers and municipal authorities, with both sides seeking a resolution that addresses the workers' demands for better compensation and benefits while ensuring the continuity of essential city services.