Union members threaten and harass residents who dare drop off garbage during Philadelphia strike: ‘This is disgraceful’

On the third day of a union strike of municipal workers, garbage is piling up in Philadelphia, and some workers are resorting to threats and vandalism against residents who dare to break the strike.

The City of Philadelphia is negotiating with members of the AFSCME District Council 33 union, who are asking for a wage increase of 8% per year. The city has offered to increase wages by 7% over three years, which led to the worker strike beginning Tuesday.

‘The smell. It’s unsanitary, it’s unsafe, it needs to stop!’

Since then, residents are reporting that garbage is piling up and threatening their standard of living. “This is a nightmare,” said Renee Dennis of West Philadelphia to WPVI-TV.

“I’m 55 years old, I have never seen nothing like this,” said Dennis. “They say this happened back in ’83. Don’t remember. Don’t want to remember!”

“The smell. It’s unsanitary, it’s unsafe, it needs to stop!” said another unidentified resident.

The city has set up dumpster locations, but union workers are demanding that residents respect the strike and ignore the garbage sites to pressure the city into caving to their demands.

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Union president Greg Boulware said that no one anywhere has it worse than the union members in Philadelphia.

“Nobody understands financial constraints more than our members,” Boulware claimed. “We’re asking for a little bit of relief so we can loosen our belts just a little bit instead of continuously keep tightening them. There’s no more left to tighten.”

Residents are overwhelmed by the garbage piling up.

“All I can do is keep my own home safe and get up some air purifiers, just to keep the smell out!” said Justin Malamut of West Philadelphia.

The city obtained a court order preventing union members from getting in the way of city vehicles and harassing workers, but the city solicitor says some members have ignored that order.

On Wednesday, the second day of the strike, WPVI reported that police had to intervene when striking city workers blocked sanitation trucks from entering a sanitation center.

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One striker was arrested for allegedly slashing the tires of a PGA worker on Tuesday. He also injured his hand in the process of stabbing the tire.

“This is not legal activity. This is in violation of injunctions. It needs to stop!” said Philadelphia city solicitor Renee Garcia.

Garcia said that union members had jammed locks at health centers, shut off water at a Water Department facility, and were harassing residents and workers over the strike.

“We’re beyond disrespect. This is disgraceful. It is illegal,” she added.

The union released a statement imploring members to follow the law during the strike.

“I saw there were some rats scurrying over here,” said resident Giuseppe Mollo. “I don’t know how long this can last.”

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