Negotiations continue in Philadelphia as thousands of city workers strike over wages, work conditions

Negotiations continued Wednesday on the second day of a strike by nearly 10,000 city workers in Philadelphia--while a judge ordered some emergency service dispatchers and essential water department employees back to work.

- by Maryclaire Dale Associated Press

“We are still very, very far apart. All this, it’s not all about money, but it’s largely about money. However, there are a lot of work rule situations that we still have not worked through,” Greg Boulware, District 33 president, said Wednesday morning outside a designated trash drop-off site along the Delaware River.

The union represents many of the city’s blue-collar workers, from trash collectors to clerks, to security guards. Police and firefighters are not on strike.

The city has suspended residential trash collection, closed some city pools and libraries, and shortened recreation center hours. However, Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, has vowed to keep the city running and not disturb the Fourth of July celebrations already underway in the nation’s birthplace.

A trickle of people arriving Wednesday morning at a designated trash drop-off site found themselves in the center of the labor dispute as they encountered a few dozen striking workers lining the gates. Some turned around, while others — sometimes guided by police - drove through an open gate to deposit bags in a single idle trash truck.