Philly strike updates: Negotiations resume as trash piles up; city seeks contractor for July 4th event work

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.

The city is canceling the half day scheduled for municipal workers on July 3, as a result of the ongoing strike by AFSCME District Council 33.

Managers and workers in other municipal unions were slated for “early dismissal” the day before Independence Day, but on Wednesday afternoon that was rescinded. 

“Please note that there will be no early dismissal on Thursday, July 3rd due to the ongoing strike,” an email sent to the Department of Human Services reads. “In the event the strike ends before July 3rd, the early dismissal will proceed as originally scheduled. All employees are expected to report for their regular work schedule.”

Amid the AFSCME District Council 33 strike, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration is contracting with the Elliot-Lewis Corporation to help prepare the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the July Fourth Wawa Welcome America Festival by placing barriers and moving bike racks.

The company is a major longstanding contractor with the city. Recent projects include the renovation of Parker’s Riverview Wellness Center in Northeast Philadelphia, a keystone of her opioid strategy.

“The contractor for this July 4th preparation project, Elliott Lewis Corporation, already has a contract with the City and this is within the emergency procurement process within our guidelines,” Sharon Gallagher, senior director of communications with the Managing Director’s Office, said in an email. “They have performed this exact work for the City in the past.”

The first District Council 33 member accused of violating a court order limiting picketers from blocking city facilities was let go with a warning after a Wednesday afternoon hearing in the Criminal Justice Center across from City Hall.

Jeanette Coppinger, a Free Library of Philadelphia employee, sat on the ground to block the entrance to the Northeast Regional Library at Cottman Avenue during a picket Wednesday. A sheriff's deputy read the union member the court order entered Tuesday that prohibits such activities during pickets, but Coppinger refused to move.

During a hearing in front of Common Pleas Judge Sierra Thomas-Street, who issued the injunction, Coppinger admitted to willfully violating the order “to make a statement.”

At-large City Councilmember Rue Landau said she would “absolutely not” attend July 4th festivities on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway if the city could not negotiate a contract with District Council 33 and goes forth with a bid for contract labor to set up and break down the Wawa Welcome America Celebration.

“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 even more,” Landau told The Inquirer at a solidarity rally held outside the Fire Administration Building on Spring Garden Street Wednesday evening.

“What’s disgusting? Union busting!” A group of about 20 District Council 47 members chanted to a drumbeat. DC 47 represents white-collar municipal workers, who are not on strike.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker would not officially say if the city is employing contract labor to fill gaps in the delivery of essential services caused by the District Council 33 strike.

“We have received an outpouring of support and interest from anyone who could help the City of Philadelphia during this time of crisis, and we are employing the supports of as many people as we possibly can to help us,” Parker told reporters at news conference Wednesday afternoon. “We’re using every resource available to help get us through this challenging time.”

Utilizing non-union labor to fulfill the duties normally done by union workers on strike is generally considered scabbing and is looked down upon by unions and their supporters.

Next weekend, Port Richmond resident Diane Isser will have her first dance at her wedding with her husband to The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”

One thing Isser won’t have? A marriage license — at least for now.

Isser, 34, and her fiancé Tom are abstaining from visiting the Marriage License Bureau in Room 413 of City Hall until District Council 33’s strike is over. They were planning on filing their paperwork Wednesday, but thought otherwise after realizing they would have to cross a picket line.

The city is “actively monitoring” complaints about dumpsters scattered across the city while trash collection is suspended, said Crystal Jacobs Shipman, the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation.

Shipman said vendors were attempting to replace full containers with empty ones multiple times per day, but are running into issues causing delays, including traffic, tight streets, and limited parking. In some cases, this is causing piles of trash to accumulate on sidewalks.

“Our crews are working throughout the day to remove those piles as quickly and efficiently as they can,” Shipman said during a Wednesday news conference. “Staff are continuously assessing the volume and capacity at each site, and will relocate dumpsters as necessary based on demands.”

Despite an injunction from a judge, City Solicitor Renee Garcia said some members of DC 33 have continued to take part in “illegal activities” aimed at ramping up pressure on the city.

Garcia outlined several incidents, which included jamming locks at health centers, harassing residents bringing trash to drop-off sites, and preventing workers from getting into water facilities.

“At one location, where we had employees locked inside, they shut off the water to this building from the outside and parked their car over the valve,” Garcia told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. “This is not legal activity. This is in violation of injunctions, and it needs to stop.”

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said members of her administration have resumed contract negotiations with leaders of AFSCME DC 33, which had been cut off since just before midnight Monday.

“I want you all to know that the city of Philadelphia remains committed to reaching a fair and fiscally responsible contract with our municipal workers,” Parker said at a Wednesday news conference.

Parker defended the city's offer to DC 33, telling reporters the four-year deal it offered amounted to a pay increase of more than 13%.

Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said he was urging both Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and AFSCME District Council 33 to continue negotiating a deal that would end the union’s strike.

“A strike is not good for the city of Philadelphia,” Johnson told reporters after a news conference on SNAP in West Philadelphia. “It’s not good for the residents here in the city of Philadelphia. So they’ll continue talking, come to some [resolution] for a fair contract for the workers of District Council 33.”

Johnson’s comments Wednesday mark his first public statement on the strike since it began Tuesday. The council president, who portrayed a strong relationship with Parker during budget season, said he supports the union’s efforts and that his fellow council members are “well within their rights to advocate” for DC 33 members.

In preparation for July 4th’s Wawa Welcome America Festival, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration initially sought to employ office workers and managers — who are not on strike — to fill jobs usually done by members of AFSCME District Council 33.

In emails sent to employees of the Managing Director's Office on Tuesday, assistance for manual labor was sought on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway where the festivities are held. The email referenced a form sent out to city employees to signal their availability and expertise to help cover essential city services during the strike.

“Also, more urgently, if anyone is available tomorrow morning at 7am and willing to do physical labor (ability to lift up to 50 lbs) Protective footwear–such as steel toed shoes and gloves encouraged), we are seeking 30 people to help set up bike racks on the parkway for the 4th of July celebration,” the email read.

AFSCME District Council 33 president Greg Boulware said Wednesday he was not aware of cases in which union members had damaged city property or infrastructure since he called the strike that began early Tuesday morning.

“I’m not aware of those types of things,” Boulware said in an interview. “I certainly don’t condone them.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said Tuesday fire hydrants were opened on her block and elsewhere in an apparent attempt to damage the city's water system. Police have arrested a man for slashing a Philadelphia Gas Works truck’s tires and have received reports of vandalism at other city facilities. None of the publicly reported incidents involved attempts to cause injuries.

Philadelphia officials highlighted the importance of District Council 33 workers to essential city functions by asking a judge to force some back to work, the union said in a statement posted on Instagram Wednesday.

Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas-Street issued orders Tuesday requiring the majority of 911 dispatchers and a skeleton crew of water plant workers to return to their regular shifts in response to lawsuits filed by the city that said that the unionized workers absent threatens the health and safety of the city.

In the lawsuits, the city highlighted the specialized training and experience of DC 33’s members that makes them so hard to replace with contractors.

The District Council 33 strike isn’t just affecting trash collection, libraries, and pools. It has also caused the city’s sheriff sales to grind to a halt.

A Philadelphia judge, citing the strike, ordered the postponement of a planned sale this week.

The rescheduling of Tuesday’s auction of about 200 foreclosed properties followed a request from Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s office sent four days before the Tuesday strike announcement, according to records obtained by The Inquirer.

Councilmember Quetcy Lozada said she is keeping her City Hall office closed "out of respect for those on strike" and will stay closed until an agreement is reached.

Lozada, who represents the 7th Councilmanic District, said in a statement Tuesday that her district office remains open and her office is able to assist constituents by phone.

Lozada appears to be one of a few City Council members to publicly draw attention to this action so far. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas' City Hall office will also be closed until a deal is struck.

Not even a full day had gone by before a dumpster serving as a temporary trash drop-off location was overflowing with bags at the corner of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue — an intersection that already struggles with illegal dumping.

Residents gripped dripping bags of trash away from their bodies as they made the pilgrimage to the dump, while others chose to drive, lining their trunks with garbage bags.

Despite the cooler temperatures, courtesy of the morning rain, the stench wafted across the intersection.

A Philadelphia Parks and Recreation employee and member of District Council 33 has been charged with slashing the tire of a Philadelphia Gas Works digger loader amid the municipal worker strike, police said.

Carnell Wilder, 59, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with vandalism, criminal mischief, and possession of an instrument of crime after police said he caused about $3,000 in damage to the tractor at a facility near Ford Road and Chamounix Drive in Fairmount Park.

Police said Wilder approached a PGW worker who was operating a digger loader around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday and asked, “Why aren’t you striking?” before stabbing the rear left tire of the machine with a knife.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and AFSCME District Council 33 are headed back to the negotiating table, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

It wasn’t immediately clear when or where the two sides would meet. It will be their first official negotiating session since union president Greg Boulware declared a strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday after walking out of talks with Parker’s team, which was led by Chief Deputy Mayor Sinceré Harris.

Parker said Tuesday she was “ready, willing and able” to continue talks as soon as DC 33 was ready.

Trash collection

Trash collection has been put on hold, and city residents are being asked to not set their garbage out on the curb on their usual collection day. Instead, the city has opened more than 60 drop-off locations where residents are able to bring up to eight bags of trash on their given collection day.

Recycling

With sanitation workers among those on strike, bags of trash are beginning to pile up across the city.

Trash collection across Philadelphia has been halted, including at Philadelphia International Airport, where garbage was spotted overflowing from cans Tuesday.

The city has set up more than 60 drop-off sites for residents to bring their garbage, dumpsters that began to overflow in parts of the city Tuesday.

A striking city worker was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly slashing a Philadelphia Water Department truck’s tires, according to a police source.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said officers arrested a member of DC 33 who they believe was responsible for the vandalism — and who allegedly cut his finger in the process of slicing the tires, valued at about $3,000.

The man’s name was not immediately available, but he remained in custody Tuesday afternoon after police recommended he face charges including vandalism, according to the source. The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

Philadelphia scored early court victories on the first day of the largest municipal worker strike in decades, as a judge approved three injunctions sought by the city.

Less than an hour after District Council 33's midnight strike announcement, the city filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction that would force essential Philadelphia Water Department employees to report to their job to ensure safe drinking water and wastewater services.

On Tuesday afternoon, Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas-Street issued an order granting the city the injunction prohibiting certain PWD staff, such as some science technicians and water treatment plant operators, to return to their regular shift work as part of a skeleton crew.

The City of Philadelphia "is ready, willing, and able” to go back to the bargaining table with District Council 33 after stalled negotiations resulted in the union's first strike since 1986, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker told reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

AFSCME DC33 is the city’s largest municipal worker’s union and represents about 9,000 blue collar employees across Philadelphia’s sanitation, parks & recreation, streets, and water departments, among others. They walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday after their contract expired. Already, trash pickup has ceased, while pools, libraries, and city-operated health centers have closed.

Parker said that the city was “laser focused on providing essential city services” throughout the duration of strike, with public health and safety departments as the core focus. She also was keen on defending the city’s contract offer.