Philly Residents Forced To Dispose Their Own Trash Due To Union Strike

Philadelphia members of AFSCME District Council 33 are currently on strike leaving millions to refrain from sitting their trash outside their home for pickup. There are 9000 municipal city workers on strike which include police dispatchers, street maintenance workers, sanitation workers and other city jobs. City Mayor Cherelle Parker says the city has made an offer to the union but it was unsuccessful.The city now has several drop off locations for residents to dispose of their trash. Some sites are in the middle of residential blocks. Residents have complained due to hot weather causing the smell of garbage to linger in the air, while rodent issues will cause another major problem.

District 33 is requesting a 5% wage increase, better healthcare benefits and increased contribution from the city to their pension plans. Considering what it costs to live comfortably in the city of Philadelphia it only makes sense to demand more. Mayor Parker has expressed that there are several programs already in place to help union city workers to become homeowners by assisting with down payments and closing costs. She admits that due to inflation it has been difficult for city laborers to keep up with the cost of living. Many of these union workers are not able to meet mortgage requirements because of their incredibly low pay rate. Sources claim that Mayor Cherelle Parker has given herself a 9% raise in which records indicate she received a 3.1% raise.

Mayor Parker stated she will continue to negotiate and work diligently to ensure city workers are fairly compensated. She also made it clear that she will not compromise the city's fiscal stability to avoid possible consequences of not being re-elected in the future.