Philadelphia strike continues into Day 4, negotiations paused as union "working on" new proposal to city
Negotiations are paused between AFSCME District Council 33 — Philadelphia's largest blue-collar union representing trash collectors, police dispatchers and more — and the Parker administration as the municipal workers' strike continued into its fourth day Friday.
DC 33 President Greg Boulware told CBS News Philadelphia on Thursday night that there's no scheduled time to return to the negotiating table. Boulware said it's the union's turn to bring a new proposal to the table.
The union is "trying to work on it," Boulware said.
Late Thursday night, LL Cool J, a headliner for the Wawa Welcome America concert on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, said he wouldn't perform at the event until the two sides make a deal.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said the city's negotiating team was willing to meet with DC 33 on Thursday, but union leadership declined.
"I want to be clear, Philadelphia: The city of Philadelphia cannot negotiate with itself," Parker said during an afternoon news conference outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
"I will not put the fiscal stability of the City of Philadelphia in jeopardy for no one. If that means I'm a one-term mayor, so be it," Parker later added. "But the history books will say that Mayor Cherelle Parker did right by the blue-collar men and women of District Council 33."
DC 33 and the Parker's administration returned to the negotiating table Wednesday, as trash is already piling up and frustration grows during the biggest walkout in the city in nearly four decades.
Talks lasted nearly 12 hours before both sides exited negotiations around 1:30 a.m. Thursday without an agreement.
Boulware said they've made some compromises and are eager to present a new proposal to break the stalemate.
"The last several changes we've made to our proposal have been significant in many different ways," Boulware said, "and we don't feel like the city is budging at all. My men and women are out on this line to see substantial change in regard to their wages."
A judge ordered unionized employees in Philadelphia's Medical Examiner's Office to return to work at 3 p.m. Thursday after the city filed documents in the county Court of Common Pleas seeking an injunction. Boulware said the injunctions prove the union's point that the workers are essential. He said if the city paid fair wages, it wouldn't have to file emergency legal action.
"This isn't a personal thing," Boulware said. "We simply just want to see our men and women paid the right way."
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that state mediators are involved in the negotiations.
"I've communicated with the mayor multiple times. I know she has put an aggressive package on the table. I believe the best package that's been put on the table in decades," Shapiro said. "I have confidence in Mayor Parker to see this through and to find a way to resolve these differences, to pay a fair wage, and to ensure the good people of Philadelphia get the benefits of the great work that DC 33 members provide our city every day."
The union represents about 9,000 workers in essential services, including emergency dispatchers and sanitation, in Philadelphia.
"Our men and women of DC 33 to come back to the table and negotiate with the city," Parker said Thursday, "so we can't get to yes with the best interest of our municipal workers, along with the tax-paying residents of our city."
Both the city and the union claim they're ready to resume negotiations. As of now, it's unclear when that will happen.
What do workers in the Philadelphia strike want and what was the city's offer?
Union leaders are fighting for higher wages as well as health care benefits for all members.
Parker and city officials claimed they've already offered DC 33 a 7% to 8% raise over four years. The mayor again claimed that the city had put its best offer on the table Tuesday, and the union had not accepted it.
Parker and the city claim they've offered a 13% pay increase over four years — a three-year contract with raises of 2.75% in Year 1, followed by 3% in Years 2 and 3. Parker called the offer historic, as it is the largest one-term pay increase offered by a Philadelphia mayor in more than 30 years.
"You can't make up that math," Parker said.
Boulware on Thursday disputed that the city is actually offering the 13% figure.
"It's not 13% over four years. Let's be very clear about that," Boulware said. "We already signed a one-year extension. That one-year extension is signed and done. I don't know why that's being discussed. It's not part of the conversation."
Boulware said the union has set its plateau number at 5% over three years and added the city is currently at 8.75%. The 13% figure the Parker administration is claiming includes the 5% increase from the one-year extension signed last fall, according to Boulware.
"This 13% ideology needs to go. If the mayor wanted to hold onto that position, then the mayor and her team should have signed the four-year deal that we asked for back in the fall," Boulware said. "They asked for the one-year extension. Not us. You can't lump that in now with this current term of negotiation. That's not how things work."
"It's not like as if our members are making $80,000, $90,000 a year," Boulware said. "A 2% increase on those would be significantly higher than it would be on somebody making $40,000-$45,000 a year. So, her math truly is not mathing, and you're clearly not paying attention to the working people that are going on in this city."
The mayor has highlighted the work she's doing for city workers, such as her mortgage program.
"I'm also not going to believe that the men and women are not interested in acquiring 30-year, low-cost mortgages that would put them in a position to purchase a home so they could become homeowners in the City of Philadelphia," Parker said.
The union said it's about earning a living wage now.
"But the reality is when you have subpar wages or poor working wages, when you do get the opportunity to acquire a home, you still have to be able to afford the utilities in that home and you still have to be able to afford the groceries that go along with that home," Boulware said. "If you can't afford that, then there's something wrong."
Some union employees court-ordered back to work, city claims some picketing activity illegal
City officials have alleged that union members are hindering the negotiating process.
On Tuesday night, a judge ordered over 200 employees, including police dispatchers and Water Department staff, to return to work amid the strike. The judge said the strike poses a serious risk to public health.
Approximately 200 Philadelphia Police Department officers had been taken off the streets to assist with answering 911 calls.
"These legal directives are crucial and must be adhered to without exception to ensure compliance with the law and to avoid any potential legal repercussions," . "Some members have been specifically ordered by the court to return to work. It is essential for those individuals to comply with this directive immediately to avoid any legal consequences."
"We implore all members to strictly adhere to these court-ordered rules that have been imposed," the union's post continued, in part. "Compliance is not only a legal obligation but also essential to ensure the safety and integrity of our collective actions. By following these injunctions, we uphold the principles of lawful protest and demonstrate our commitment to responsible activism."
City Solicitor Renee Garcia said the city has filed three injunctions to compel essential workers to maintain critical services. Garcia claimed there are reports of illegal picketing, including jammed locks at health care centers, blocked trash drop-offs and trucks prevented from delivering chemicals to water facilities.
"Preventing workers from getting into our water facilities. We were supposed to have a shift change at one of our facilities. The next crew was blocked from going in. They're blocking trucks from delivering chemicals to our water facilities," Garcia said Wednesday. "At one of the locations, where we had employees locked inside, they shut off the water to this building from the outside and then parked their car over the valve. This is not legal action. This is in violation of injunctions. It needs to stop."
A 59-year-old man was charged with slashing the tires of a Philadelphia Gas Works truck on Wednesday.
"The insinuation is that it was our men and women that were doing it, but I have no reason to believe that's the case," Boulware said. "They should maybe stop asking contractors to come work on our city facilities that don't belong there. And those same contractors, they're paying them top dollar instead of paying our men and women."
Weekly garbage pickups on hold during strike, trash piles up
On Monday, the mayor asked Philadelphia residents to refrain from placing trash and recycling cans at the curb starting Tuesday. The city established for residents to dispose of their trash.
At one of the , crews were spotted Wednesday morning loading garbage from the sidewalk and dumpster into a truck. Throughout the morning, people have been dumping their trash.
"Not everybody has a vehicle in Philadelphia. There are people who rely on public transportation. That's going to back up the whole street," Vu Lamb, who lives in Southwest Center City, said. "Right now, I'm seeing in my neighborhood, it's piling up already. If everybody can't contribute, it's going to be a problem."
The city said in a statement that it's monitoring the drop-off sites to determine if additional dumpsters are needed in certain areas. They also stated that the dumpsters are scheduled to be serviced multiple times a day, but this process can take time, so they're asking for patience.
"The Department of Sanitation is working to increase capacity at dumpster site locations. Piles that may accumulate near the dumpsters are being monitored and collected separate from the dumpster removal. Staff are removing piles as quickly as possible at each location throughout the day. Our staff is also continuously monitoring the locations for excess volume and capacity and will be working to add more dumpsters and other resources as needed," the city's statement reads, in part.
"The dumpsters themselves are scheduled to be serviced multiple times throughout the day. Vendors will be swapping out full dumpsters with empty ones at each location. This takes time as vendors navigate through traffic, tightly dense neighborhoods and parking challenges. This is a fluid situation so there will be continuous assessment and evaluation of sites for possible relocation of dumpsters as needed."
