Philadelphia city workers’ strike continues on Day 5. Talks between union, officials resume

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The union that represents more than 9,000 city workers said in a post on X that it is resuming contract talks with Philadelphia officials as its strike continued for a fifth day.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33, which represents sanitation workers, city mechanics, 911 dispatchers and school crossing guards, announced the strike after talks stalled between both parties late Monday night.

With household trash collection paused, bags of waste have piled up on the sidewalks and at designated city collection sites.

Wages are the sticking point in the negotiations, DC33 leader Greg Boulware said earlier this week. 

“We got people that work and repair the water mains and can’t afford their water bill,” he said. “We got people that repair the runways at the airport and can’t afford a plane ticket. I don’t want to be rich. We just want a comfort inside the city that we serve daily.”

The average DC33 member makes $46,000 a year. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, that figure falls $2,000 below the city’s “living wage” per the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator.

The union is asking for a 5% raise per year. Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration has countered with 2.7%, 3% and 3% wage increases over the next three years.

Boulware told the Inquirer on Friday that the union will “have to adjust that a little bit,” referring to its wage increase demands.

Union members and city residents voiced their support for the workers’ demands at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July parade Friday, as two headliners for the Wawa Welcome America concert, LL Cool J and Jazmine Sullivan, declined to perform as a show of solidarity with DC33.

During a speech at Independence Hall on Friday, Parker told the crowd that she wants to negotiate “a fair and fiscally responsible contract.”

“I also want to make clear that the largest pay increase proposal for District Council 33 in one term — one term, four years — this will be the largest pay increase proposal of any Philadelphia mayor in 30 years, and I want you to know I am proud of that,” she said.