Trash and frustrations mount, but talks resume, as the DC 33 strike continues

It has closed libraries and swimming pools, and has forced recreation centers to cut back hours. And on its second day it was evident that an increasingly acrimonious strike by Philadelphia’s largest municipal union was creating a trash crisis — and eyesores throughout the city.

Just like that, on the eve of one of the city’s most important celebratory holidays, dumpsters that the city has set up as trash drop-off locations were overflowing with refuse Wednesday, with a notable stench infusing the muggy air.

“It could get bad because of the roaches and the rats,” said John Johnson III, who lives near Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, an area that is familiar with illegal dumping. “The city isn’t emptying [the dumpsters] fast enough.” What’s more, an Inquirer analysis showed that about 200,000 residents were a mile or more from the nearest dumpster.

When the members of District Council 33, who total more than 9,000, would resume collecting trash remained anyone’s guess.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said Wednesday that administration representatives had resumed talks with the union, which had broken off Monday just before midnight.

At a news conference, she said the city was “committed to reaching a fair and fiscally responsible” agreement, while defending her administration’s offer. The mayor’s last known proposal to the union was for a three-year contract with raises of 2.75%, 3%, and 3%. In public, she has lumped in the contract currently on the table with the 5% raise she gave DC 33 members last year to cast the package as a four-year deal with a combined 13% pay hike.

The union counters that the average salary of $46,000 is so low that it makes many members eligible for public assistance. DC 33 leaders are asking for a four-year deal with a 5% raise each year.

Taking exception to allegations that his members had damaged city property, DC 33 president Greg Boulware said that if city officials “focused their energies in the right area, we wouldn’t have to worry about some of these things and making inflammatory comments.”

Despite an injunction from a judge, City Solicitor Renee Garcia said, some DC 33 members had jammed locks at health centers, harassed residents who were bringing trash to drop-off sites, and prevented workers from getting into water facilities.

Parker said that fire hydrants had been opened illegally on her block and elsewhere, apparently in an attempt to damage the city’s water system, and police arrested a man for slashing the tires of a Philadelphia Gas Works truck.

Boulware insisted he knew of no such incidents involving his members. However, he did allow that the person arrested in the PGW truck incident was former AFSCME Local 222 vice president Carnell Wilder. Local 222, which represents parks employees, is part of DC 33.

Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas Street granted an injunction that limited picketing. A person accused of violating the order was released, with a warning.

The judge also ordered 911 dispatchers and a crew of water plant employees to return to their jobs — which the union considered a compliment.

“Such legal measures are a testament to the irreplaceable nature of the workforce involved,” DC 33 said in a statement.

The strike has left the city scrambling for help in preparing for Friday’s Wawa Welcome America celebration on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The administration sent an email Tuesday to about 80 employees of the managing director’s office asking for assistance with manual labor needed to set up for the July Fourth festivities.

The email put out a casting call for anyone “available tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. and willing to do physical labor,” specifically with the ability to lift 50 pounds.

In the end, the city decided to hire a private contractor to do the heavy lifting, said Sharon Gallagher, the office’s senior director of communications.

At-large City Councilmember Rue Landau said she would “absolutely not” attend the festivities if no agreement is reached.

“We want people to come out to the Parkway and enjoy themselves and spend money. If there’s no contract and people stay home, Philadelphia is going to lose out,” she said.

» READ MORE: City Council members face a political quagmire during Philly’s workers strike

Parker stopped short of saying the city would be using contract labor to fill other gaps in city services but said: “We have received an outpouring of support and interest. … We’re using every resource available to help get us through this challenging time.”

One of the city’s major problems is how to deal with trash.

The city is “actively monitoring” complaints related to dumpsters, said Crystal Jacobs Shipman, the commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Sanitation.

Shipman said vendors were running into complications in their efforts to empty dumpsters, including traffic, the city’s numerous tight streets, and limited parking. In some instances, overfed dumpsters are leading to piles of trash accumulating on sidewalks.

“Our crews are working throughout the day to remove those piles as quickly and efficiently as they can,” Shipman said at a Wednesday news conference.

At the Broad and Snyder site, residents gripped dripping bags of trash, keeping them away from their bodies, as they made the pilgrimage to the dump. Others chose to drive, lining their trunks with garbage bags.

» READ MORE: In a ‘union town,’ Philly residents debate whether using trash drop-off sites is crossing a picket line

John Johnson enlisted his teenage son to help transport the trash out to the dumpster the minute he saw the full one emptied.

Except he and others were dismayed to see that dozens of bags were left on the sidewalk.

“Staff are continuously assessing the volume and capacity at each site, and will relocate dumpsters as necessary based on demands,” Shipman said.

Shipman said residents with complaints about dumpsters can call 311.

Staff writers Jake Blumgart, John Duchneskie, Abraham Gutman, Rob Tornoe, Sean Collins Walsh, and Aubrey Whelan contributed to this article.