Day 3 of DC33 strike: No talks planned as tensions, and trash piles, rise

Tensions and piles of trash are growing as a strike by the city s largest labor union which includes sanitation workers teachers and airport employees entered a third day on Thursday The American Federation of State Council and Municipal Employees AFSCME District Council has been on strike since a m on July The city had been offering a deal that offered raises of and over three years while DC has been insisting on a raise for four years The city and union officers met on Wednesday until early Thursday morning but made no progress toward ending the strike DC president Greg Boulware explained the Inquirer that the city had sweetened their offer with a bonuses but that he requested lasting increases to workers salaries The average salary for DC members is around the union has explained multiple times Boulware stated there were no plans to resume negotiations Thursday which is the last day before the July holiday Trash With sanitation workers on strike there are at the moment no curbside trash or recycling collections The city has created a list of temporary waste drop off sites for people to bring their trash encouraging people to bring their waste to these locations on their normal scheduled trash pickup date Despite this several residents have expressed concerns about this system A few dropoff locations are in unclear locations and there has even been tension between law enforcement and union workers at various sites Residents have also wondered whether using the drop-off sites is tantamount to journeying the picket line Countless Philadelphians expressed concerns that if negotiations are not made ahead of the weekend massive amounts of Fourth of July trash could pile up What s open and for how long Multiple city services have modified or ceased operations due to the strike but certain remain open or have alternative options Trash dropoff and pickup sites are open from a m to p m though there have been incidents where union members blocked access to dropoffs While city pools were expected to open by the end of next week only are fully available now City recreation centers are open for reduced hours a m to p m they d normally stay open till p m Summer camps will still operate normally but evening programs are suspended Permitted events in park spaces face limited maintenance cleaning and gate access All Free Library of Philadelphia branches are closed during the duration of the strike This means that cooling centers and free summer lunch for Philly youth are also currently not in operation Several healthcare services at City of Philadelphia Medical Centers are temporarily unavailable or delayed The city says services available will vary by day and location What s up with courts The city has filed several triumphant preliminary injunctions with the Court of Common Pleas to order certain employees back to work This includes call center employees and particular essential Philadelphia Water Department workers Another preliminary injunction filed by the city also prohibits DC picketers from blocking or obstructing access to municipal buildings Another court order obtained by the city prevents striking sanitation workers from gathering in groups of more than eight or standing within feet of city property which includes sanitation centers or engaging in behavior deemed as intimidating or harassing This created tensions at one city sanitation center on Wednesday where dozens of sanitation workers had a standoff with functionaries Boulware characterized these actions as bad-faith moves by the city Clearly the city doesn t want to negotiate in good faith with us by doing tactics like this to make sure that they diminish any opportunity for us to have an effective strike on the side of this city he stated The city could potentially file more injunctions over the unit of the strike Prep for Welcome America Mayor Cherelle Parker has commented the city s Wawa Welcome America Fourth of July festivities will go on as planned The city and groups like Visit Philadelphia have maintained this stance as the strike continues Wawa s Welcome America festival is the nation s largest Independence Day celebration It will feature concerts free museum days parades and fireworks Beyond this other departments and services may continue to see impacts if the strike continues This story will be updated The post Day of DC strike No talks planned as tensions and trash piles rise appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY