PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than a dozen picket locations were set up Sunday for day six of the AFSCME DC 33 strike.
Contract negotiations resumed Saturday for several hours between the city and Philadelphia’s largest blue collar workers union, but it is not clear if any progress was made.
Some workers returned to work Thursday afternoon after the city won another court injunction to force those from the Medical Examiner's Office back to work. However, officials said the city is struggling to keep up with the amount of trash being brought to the various collection centers set up across the city, and the influx has only worsened with the very busy July Fourth weekend.
At Milnor and Robbins streets, a large pile of fiery trash was captured on video Sunday morning but quickly extinguished. On Friday, city officials said anyone caught intentionally setting fires at these locations would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Striking members plan to make their voices heard near City Hall, Philadelphia International Airport, police headquarters and multiple sanitation centers.
The union says its 9,000 members, including sanitation workers, prison and airport staff, have long been underpaid, and they are hoping to make big gains with this contract.
The union that represents white collar city workers, AFSCME DC 47, is also up for a new contract with the city. But it has not authorized a strike yet for its workers.