By bringing the trash strike to an end with a new deal for DC 33, Parker passes a major test | Editorial

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and leaders of the union for blue-collar municipal workers both deserve credit for finding enough common ground to reach an agreement on a new contract early Wednesday, bringing an end to an eight-day strike by trash collectors and other city employees.

Given that the terms ultimately agreed upon were remarkably similar to Parker’s final prestrike offer, there can be little doubt the three-year pact — which includes annual 3% pay increases, as well as one-time $1,500 bonuses — was a clear win for the mayor.

The negotiations were perhaps the most visible test yet for Parker, who, after 18 months in office, sought to balance the fiscal realities of leading the nation’s poorest big city with the very real need to raise salaries for one of Philadelphia’s most vital — yet underpaid — groups of workers.

Her ability to hold the budgetary line — the agreement is expected to cost the city $115 million over five years — is also a victory for Philadelphia taxpayers. And it allows Parker to keep a firm grip on municipal finances amid an unpredictable federal budget and a projected revenue crunch.

While the deal might represent a triumph for fiscal prudence, the hardworking men and women of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 did little to hide their disappointment about the new contract.

“A deal has been reached — unfortunately,” Greg Boulware, the union’s president, told a clutch of reporters as he emerged from negotiations around 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Boulware had sought annual pay increases of at least 5% and hoped to undo decades of concessions and sacrifices that had been made by his members.

Although Boulware fell short in achieving the financial terms he wanted, the strike helped underscore the meager wages earned by those who perform some of the most vital work in Philadelphia — the average salary of members of DC 33 is about $46,000.

While Boulware might have set his goals too high for this negotiation — particularly since Parker gave his members a one-time 5% raise last year — he effectively inspired a broader civic conversation about pay packages for city employees.

With that in mind, Parker and future mayoral administrations must continue to work to make this essential workforce whole, and should view the conclusion of these negotiations as a starting point in that effort rather than an ending.

For Parker, other labor challenges remain on the horizon. Once the new contract is ratified by Boulware’s members, the mayor’s attention will turn to crafting new deals for the city’s police, teachers, firefighters, and administrative workforce.

Parker and future mayoral administrations must continue to work to make this essential workforce whole.

A teachers’ strike, in particular, could lead to a frustrating fall for families of public school students, especially those who already lived through 536 days of disrupted education during the pandemic.

Now that the mayor has resisted giving more generous raises to their lower-paid colleagues, those unions might have a difficult time negotiating raises larger than what DC 33 received — even if they issue similar threats to strike.

Still, it is worth asking whether the new contract is justified by the tactics required by both sides to get there.

Beyond the heaps of trash strewn along sidewalks and at drop-off locations around the city, union members may question whether the relatively modest raises were worth walking the picket line.

And it’s unclear how Parker’s hard line in negotiations with some of the city’s lowest-paid employees will play with her middle- and working-class base.

For now, Philadelphians may be most focused on Monday’s scheduled restoration of regular trash removal.

It remains to be seen, though, how long the detritus from a messy and contentious contract negotiation may linger.