Philadelphia City Workers on Strike

Zachary Miller

For the first time in nearly 40 years, one of the largest unions in Philadelphia, The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), is on strike. The strike was called after the city failed to meet the demands of the union Monday night (06/30) before the expiration of their previous contract on July 1. The union’s main demands were an 8% raise yearly in response to inflation and rising cost of living, as well as better health benefits. AFSCME District Council 33 represents around 9,000 city workers including sanitation workers, city mechanics, 911 dispatchers, library workers, city clerks, and school crossing guards.

The city, led by democrat Mayor Cherelle Parker, countered this demand with an offered 8% raise spread over a period of 4 years, effectively only a 2% raise a year. Picketers told volunteers with The Worker that Mayor Parker gave herself a 9% raise at the beginning of her term, calling the 2% offer a “slap in the face” which amounts to a pay cut considering the rising cost of living.

“If we don’t work, things don’t get done, right? We ain’t fed, we hungry. For real, there’s a lot of work[ers] here that can’t even pay mortgages and do things,” said one striker to volunteers with The Worker.

Workers have gathered in over a dozen picket spots around the city. According to monopoly media, striking workers have blocked entrances to municipal buildings, including blockading the unloading of sanitation trucks, facing repression from the police in turn. One striking worker was arrested for allegedly slashing a tire of a Philadelphia Gas Works vehicle operated by a scab July 1, according to the same monopoly media reports.

In response to the workers’ militancy, the union local has issued a statement imploring the workers to comply with court ordered rules limiting strike activity and to “uphold the principles of lawful protest” and “reasonable activism”.

One Philadelphia resident expressed sympathy for the strike but uncertainty about how to support it. A striking worker told The Worker volunteers that people can support the strike by not taking their trash to the curb, limiting opportunities for scabbing, in addition to showing up to picket lines.

A judge has ordered that some striking workers to return to work, according to newly released court documents. The city filed three injunctions on July 1 that focused on the water department, the 911 call center and anyone mass picketing in light of the strike. All three injunctions were granted, which means that some of the workers are ordered to cross picket lines.

Speaking with volunteers for The Worker on the efficacy of the strike in negotiations, a worker said: “The city’s functioning depends on us, and as the city’s not going to be functioning while we’re on strike, it’s going to force their hand.”

According to monopoly media reports, the most recent round of negotiations between the union and the city broke down July 3 without resolution.

Image: Striking Philadelphia city workers at the gates of a Philadelphia municipal building, DC33 social media.

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