Tense moments as city workers picketed outside recycling facility in Port Richmond
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Hundreds of 911 dispatchers were ordered back to work amid an ongoing strike.
The same is not true for city workers who were picketing all day in front the a city recycling facility in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood. Police had to set up barricades to keep them from blocking the entrance after things got a little tense this morning.
Getting rid of garbage was easier said than done, as picketing city workers gathered around the entrance of the facility Wednesday morning.
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Residents like Steven Connell were trying to drop off trash that had accumulated at their homes.
"I didn't know it was gonna be like this. I would've went to the dumpster," said Connell.
City workers on the picket lines are encouraging residents to leave their trash in the driveway of the recycling center in Port Richmond. It's one of more than 60 sites where residents can drop off trash now that workers have left the job.
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"Pay them what they deserve, and then we can get back to work. Until then, the strike remains intact," DC 33 President Greg Boulware.
District Council 33 is the union representing the more than 9,000 striking workers, including 911 dispatchers. After only a day on strike, 237 dispatchers are back on the job, not because of a deal, but because of a judge's decision.
"We have to abide by this injunction the city has filed against us. Clearly, the city doesn't want to negotiate in good faith with us by doing tactics like this," said Boulware.
The city filed three injunctions related to the strike. The second injunction mandated that more than 70 Philadelphia Water Department employees return to work. Those employees, as well as 911 dispatchers, are still allowed to picket when they're off the clock.
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The third injunction mandated that picketers not block access to buildings or facilities, including places like health centers, water treatment plants and the recycling facility in Port Richmond, where police showed up to clear the way so residents can drop off their trash.
"The kind of things that we are dealing with are jammed locks at health centers. We couldn't get our doctors into the health centers today. Opening fire hydrants. Yesterday, they were slashing tires on trucks," said City Solicitor Renee Garcia, who also said that residents were getting harassed as they dropped off trash at collection sites.
Pay and residency requirements are two of the issues over which the city and the union are still tussling. In the meantime, key city services are caught in the middle as negotiations continue.
"They've got to make the deal, man," said resident Eduardo Abreu as he dropped off his trash. "This is really tough for us to come over here and try to figure out the whole thing."
