Deal reached to end DC33 strike in Philadelphia; trash collection resumes Monday

LL Cool J says he won't be performing at Philadelphia's 4th of July celebration concert as long as the strike is ongoing with District Council 33, the city's largest blue-collar workers' union.

"I never ever want to disappoint my fans, and especially in Philadelphia. Ya'll mean too much to me, but there's absolutely no way that I could perform, cross a picketing line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage," he said in an Instagram post Thursday night.

LL Cool J was slated to headline the Wawa Welcome America concert, along with Jazmine Sullivan.

"I'm going to be in town, y'all, but I'm just letting you know, I'm not going to cross a picket line and perform for money when people are hurting," the hip-hop legend added.

District Council 33 President Greg Boulware applauded the decision.

"His support underscores the significance of the labor movement and its ongoing fight for justice and equity. We are grateful for his exemplary stance and the impact it has on raising awareness and fostering respect for working people everywhere," said Boulware in a statement.

Mayor Cherelle Parker said she spoke personally with LL Cool J about dropping out of the concert. "I respect his decision, and understand his desire to see the city unified. He is always welcome in Philadelphia," she said in a statement.

Negotiations with DC 33 and the City of Philadelphia have been stalled since the strike began at midnight Tuesday.

MORE | Trash piles up in parts of Philadelphia as blue-collar city workers remain on strike

The latest round of talks began Wednesday but ended overnight without a deal. There's no word on when discussions will resume.

DC 33 is made up of roughly 9,000 workers who provide services like street repair and trash pickup. Their membership also includes some airport workers, members of the Water Dept. and 911 dispatchers.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker delivered impassioned remarks on Thursday as negotiations between the city and the largest blue-collar workers union remain at a standstill.

"I will not put the fiscal stability of the City of Philadelphia in jeopardy for no one. If that means I'm a one-term mayor, then so be it," Parker said during a news conference on Thursday. "But the history books will say that Mayor Cherelle Parker did right by the blue collar men and women of District Council 33 and put an offer on the table that no other municipal blue collar workers in the nation could be able to say that their city was providing mortgages for them to be able to become home owners."

DC 33 strikes stretches into Day 3: Here's the latest

The latest talks between the city and leaders of District Council 33 - the largest of four major unions representing city workers - ended late Wednesday without a deal, and no new talks were scheduled for Thursday.

"In order to come back to the bargaining table, you have to have a counterproposal to be able to do," said District Council 33 President Greg Boulware. "Now, we just presented the city with what we thought was a very, very fair kind of proposal last night. They rejected it and came back with very much the same proposal that they've had over the last three days."

The latest proposal by DC 33 includes a 5% wage increase per year for three years.

The City is offering 7% over 3 years, which averages out to be just over 2% a year. Parker says the contract offered is the most offered by any mayor.

It's unclear when talks would resume.

"Calling us in the room and sitting down for hours after hours after hours when there's no dialogue going on is wasting our time. So that's why we're going to go back, sit, revise our proposal, get it over to the city, and then we'll happily meet with them whenever we can set up an amicable date and time," said Boulware.

DC 33 is made up of roughly 9,000 workers who provide services like street repair and trash pickup. Their membership also includes some airport workers, members of the Water Dept. and 911 dispatchers.

Mounting trash piles in some parts of the city were also still causing grief for residents and officials, who on Thursday strongly urged residents to follow the collection guidelines imposed when the strike began Tuesday. They also urged residents to report problems at the trash collection sites, and noted trash is being cleared as fast as possible and the city is working to open more sites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

No new negotiations between the City of Philadelphia and striking members of AFSCME District Council 33 are scheduled for Thursday.

The strike has been underway since approximately 9,000 members walked off the job just after midnight Tuesday.

The union represents many of the city's blue-collar workers, from trash collectors to clerks to security guards.

The city has suspended residential trash collection, closed some city pools and libraries and shortened recreation center hours.

Mayor Cherelle Parker has vowed to keep the city running and not disturb the Fourth of July celebrations already underway in the nation's birthplace.

A Philadelphia court is ordering striking medical examiner's office employees back on the job as the blue-collar workers' walkout continues.

The city sought the order, saying the office was experiencing delays in picking up the bodies of the deceased.

Workers were expected to report for duty starting with the 3 p.m. shift on Thursday.

An example of the problem could be seen on Thursday morning in Germantown. A 19-year-old man died after being shot at 5:47 a.m. but, many hours later, his body was still lying in the street.

Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon said in a court document that unrecovered bodies present a potential risk to public health.

There were also concerns about a delay in bodies being released from the morgue to grieving families, Simon wrote.

She went on to write that the morgue was already over capacity as of late Tuesday morning, just hours after the strike began.

City employees redirected from other departments have been filling in, but they were unable to keep up with the volume "as they lack the specialized certification and access to security sensitive software."