Philadelphia union workers have standoff with authorities at trash dump amid second day of strike

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During the second day of the massive municipal worker strike in Philadelphia, dozens of union workers held a picket line at a locked city dump in Northwest Philly, defying a court order in the summer heat.

Tensions were high between law enforcement and union strikers which made some neighbors nervous.

Other residents who dropped off their trash supported the workers’ strike efforts, but felt they were in a sticky situation with stinky bags in their cars.

It’s the first trash strike in nearly 40 years as American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 workers walked off the job this week after negotiations fell through with Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration.

But many neighbors kept dumping their trash at the Domino Lane Sanitation Center – or at least tried to while workers stood nearby – often directing trash and traffic in the summer heat.

Local resident Yvette Everett lives a few minutes away and thought she was following the rules but got nervous about dropping off her trash bag.

“I had to ask a cop if it was OK because I didn’t know if we were supposed to be doing this or not,” Everett said, standing next to the “no dumping” fine sign that threatens $300 for lawbreakers.

But the police gave her verbal permission to drop her refuse in front of the locked gates.

“Now all the trash is piled up on the street, so that’s interesting,” she said. “I thought it would be open so I was surprised.”

A court order obtained by the city bars striking sanitation workers from gathering in groups of more than eight, standing within 10 feet of city property  — including sanitation centers — or engaging in behavior deemed intimidating or harassing.

That means the dozens of workers were potentially in contempt of court and in a standoff with members of the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office nearby.

At first, workers and law enforcement stood away from each other, having what appeared to be friendly conversations. The standoff lasted for hours, with some moments more tense than others.

Then, a law enforcement officer with a sheriff’s badge handed out the court order and read it out loud to an increasingly rowdy crowd, who started shouting back, questioning their authority and sometimes swearing loudly.

“I understand your position, but we can’t let nobody in or out,” said one man who appeared to be a union striker but refused to identify himself.

As a crowd grew, then shrank before retreating across the street, phones were pulled out to record the situation.

“The cops get overtime,” somebody in the crowd shouted.

“We got families, we got kids. What the f—-?” said another person. “We’re not moving. Come on, let’s get serious.”

“No matter where eight is at, we’re staying here,” shouted somebody else.

“It’s a matter of time before you want your money,” one person shouted, referring to the police union contract negotiations.

The crowd began chanting “DC33” repeatedly and other slogans like “no pay, no peace.”

Residents like Lonia Roberts worried about what would happen during the holiday weekend.

“Fourth of July is going to be horrible because people want to go to the parks and have their barbecues. How are they going to do that if the mayor says, ‘Go there and dump your trash’?” Roberts asked. “There’s going to be so much trash around there. How are children going to enjoy the park? She needs to expedite with helping the city ASAP.”

Striking workers guided residents to leave recycling on one end of the fence and trash bags on the other but some residents shot back that they were unable to carry those bags much further or simply didn’t want to do it.

Other residents were more sympathetic to the union’s cause, hoping that there would be a solution soon.

Resident June Murray says she couldn’t keep her trash at home anymore, so she visited the dump site.

“I am just horrified at the circumstances for our sanitation workers here in the city,” Murray said. “The real issue is that the city has had plenty of time to come to an agreement and they have not and that just seems to me an affront to our public service employees for sure. I’m very disappointed.”

Neighbor Joseph Thomas told WHYY News that he supported union workers as he unloaded his rented U-Haul truck full of bags and discarded trash.

“The fact that it’s even possible to still have union members to strike is a good thing and hopefully it’ll continue on a bigger scale than just this,” Thomas said.

Neighbor Linda Dixon dropped off her trash bags because she doesn’t want anything sitting at home.

“I’m not against the workers at all, but I don’t want any trash piling up around my house [because] I don’t want any rodents,” Dixon said.

By midday, a second trash and recycling pile outside the gates started piling up. It was not immediately clear why the gates were locked or who locked them. A parked sanitation truck sat behind a locked gate.

Some supporters honked at the striking union workers sitting in the sun or under a shaded area.

Outside the sanitation center locked gates, a small fleet of law enforcement vehicles stood watch – five in total, including police vans used for transporting detainees and two municipal trucks. A court order about the issue was taped outside the “no dumping” sign.

Mayor Cherelle Parker previously said that the sanitation centers would be open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. starting on Wednesday.

None of the union workers present would discuss the situation with WHYY News, referring all comments to DC33 union leadership. Some repeatedly asked whether WHYY News was “on their side.”

Neither DC33 union leadership nor the city’s communications officials immediately returned requests for comment. Police and Sheriff’s officers on site declined to answer any questions and a police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When WHYY News left the scene no individuals had been arrested for contempt of court, in part because the workers backed off after one took a phone call saying to the crowd that negotiations were back on.

In South Philadelphia at Broad and Snyder Avenue, there were temporary dump collection sites with overflowing dumpsters.

During a visit by WHYY News, a truck from Waste Management services picked up the dumpster and hauled it away but left all the trash outside of it. Many individuals who walked by the dumpster took out their phones to record the situation of the ever growing pile of trash.

At a different temporary trash collection site at 18th and Catherine streets, nearby residents were “maintaining the situation,” but there were still trash bags and litter outside of it.

Resident Bryan Thornburg, who lives across the street from the dumpster, said he saw individuals drop mattresses and couches into the dumpster.

“I don’t see this outside of Councilman [Kenyatta] Johnson’s house or the mayor’s house,” he said.

WHYY News reporter Tom MacDonald contributed to this story.