Sticker reading, “WHAT’S THAT SMELL, MAYOR CHERELLE?”

On Wednesday morning, Philadelphia municipal workers, represented by AFSCME DC 33, reached a tentative pay and benefits agreement, bringing an end to an eight-day strike.

The agreement settled on a 14% pay increase for workers by 2028 (including the 5% already agreed to in the one-year deal that just expired). The deal is slightly higher than what the city had been offering, but significantly lower than what the union had been demanding.

While over 9,000 workers across various professions were on strike, the biggest issue on everyone’s mind — and in plain view — was trash, as normal household collections were halted. Instead, Mayor Cherelle Parker asked Philadelphians to either hold their trash or take it to one of the temporary trash hauling sites around the city.

What were Germantowners thinking and saying? While some neighbors held their trash, certainly no one held their tongue.

‘Pay workers,’ Germantowners agreed.

The general consensus is that neighbors want workers to get paid a living wage. The sentiment is shared across residents and businesses, especially on social media, where you can surely find a neighbor or business owner sparking dialogue or making a call to action.

A 2024 report stated that the total annual cost of living in Philadelphia is $42,502, while the salary required to live comfortably is $85,005. DC 33 workers earn an average of around $46,000, just enough to cover the cost of living.

While the city initially offered a “historic” increase rate of 13% by the end of the contract term in 2028, Union representatives criticized the offer and disputed that it was historic. Before the deal was struck, they were demanding a total of 15%, with a five percent increase each year.

It’s “what they’re owed and what they deserve,” said Hope Primas, who lives near Germantown Ave and Queen Ln, one of two trash collection sites, making it clear DC 33 workers shouldn’t be paid a cent less than what’s asked.

The 14% deal would bring DC 33 workers closer to $52,000 by the end of the contract term, not their desired $53,000 estimate.

The mayor received a 3.1% raise this year, as a standard cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA), bringing her total salary to $269,708. She added nine new positions, helping raise total staff salaries by 47%. The average salary for the Mayor’s office staff is about three times that of DC 33 workers.

Most folks, like Todzsa English, recognized the value of sanitation workers and noted the strenuous labor required. She also identified the potential dangers they face, such as “bedbugs,” “being pricked by needles,” and “mousetraps with live rodents on them,” underscoring the crucial role of sanitation workers in public health and safety.

DC 33 president Greg Bouleware is not happy with the agreement, and told reporters, “The city of Philadelphia has to do better by its members and workers who handle the essential functions as a priority in this city. I don’t feel that that’s been done.”

Neighbors’ sentiments about pay didn’t change across conversations. However, that wasn’t the case regarding how people felt about what was being asked of them and how some were even managing their new environment.

What was right, what was fair, and what was safe?

As mentioned, there were two temporary designated waste sites in Germantown where residents could drop off their trash. The first was in the north section of Germantown Ave at Tulpehocken Street, and the second was on the south side at Queen Lane.

These sites presented themselves as the overall anti-hero of a week-long tug-a-war story, as neighbors offered differing opinions about the make-shift trash solution.

Some neighbors, like Shelli Branscomb, said she hadn’t dropped off her trash to stand in solidarity. Additionally, she noted she didn’t want to make things worse for neighbors and business owners at those intersections by adding to the piles.

To reduce waste more creatively and constructively, she signed up for composting, a method that helps fertilize the soil. It’s something Branscomb had been wanting to do for a while anyway.

Similarly, English, who owns properties in Germantown, says she doesn’t produce much waste, as she both composts and has a garbage disposal. In fact, she’s never had a maggot in her trash in her adult life, she said.

For some, the disposal sites are crucial for keeping waste centralized in one location, which is what they were designed for, as presented by the city.

However, Union workers asked residents not to use sanitation centers or any city facilities to dispose of trash, such as these bins. They had requested that they keep waste outside their homes, on the curb, instead.

“I am in solidarity with the workers, but public safety must remain a top priority,” Primas said, in response to that request, stating that keeping trash is a significant health risk.

Most agreed with the sentiment that the combination of recent extreme heat and the increased likelihood of critters and vermin was enough to understand why people would move their trash indoors or take it to dump sites.

Trash buildup could have proved dangerous for Primas, who lives with asthma, as the decomposition of waste can create gases, leading to poorer air quality.

Overall, she believes there is a need for alternative waste solutions, such as community composting or volunteer clean-up crews.

Fifty-ninth Democratic Ward leader Patrick Jones has his own sentiments on finding a balance of what “solidarity” really means, as dropping off trash at designated city sites can be seen as a socially uncool display of crossing the picket line and potentially getting someone labeled a scab.

A scab is referred to as someone who undermines the efforts of a strike by filling in for striking workers.

“Residents didn’t cause this strike. They’re just trying to live through it. Refusing people a safe, sanitary option — especially elders, the disabled, and families — isn’t solidarity. It’s cruelty disguised as politics,” Jones stated.

He said he’s marched, rallied, and also stood on picket lines, but doesn’t believe the most vulnerable should carry those burdens.

Shanelle, who lives on Queen Lane and didn’t want to share their last name, said that overall, it was a “shitty situation.” One that left everyone in limbo with no clear winners, making it feel as though those closer to the sites were forced to bear the burden more than others.

While walking the Germantown Ave corridor this past Tuesday, from Tulpehocken St to Wister Ave, there were more than enough displays of trash, whether stacked beside bus stop enclosures or piled up on random street corners. And, of course, the smell was no stranger either.

However, we can confirm that the frequent sightings still don’t compare to the amounts of waste at either of the dump sites.

It’s hard being down in the dumps.

The two large green collection bins provided for the sites still proved to be no match for the amount of waste that Germantown can produce in a single night.

While the city asks residents not to place trash outside the bins, a 7-8 a.m. stroll this past Tuesday at either site revealed piles of garbage, both bagged and unbagged, which either fill the lot at Queen Lane or span half the block near Tulpehocken, sitting beside already filled and overflowing bins.

Some neighbors say they heard folks from other neighborhoods were instructed to use the Germantown bins, possibly increasing the amount. However, we cannot confirm that claim, specifically.

However, we do know that the Chestnut Hill dump site at 100 E. Mermaid Lane has been removed from the city-provided map. Whether CH residents took their trash to Mt. Airy or Germantown dumpsites can not be verified, but it’s certainly possible.

The mass removal from the sites is handled by Waste Management (WM), which is contracted by the city to collect trash at the sites. While at the Queen Lane site on Tuesday morning, a WM worker said they were out to collect daily.

Neighbors at both sites don’t refute the claim but do question whether they are collecting everything during each visit, saying the truck used to hold the trash doesn’t appear big enough, which causes WM to leave trash behind, leading to more buildup.

Shanelle also stated that the trash site at Queen Lane was not emptied during the weekend.

For nearby residents, this buildup has caused major inconveniences.

Shanelle says it’s not only been a detriment to the ambiance, needing to light candles every day just to escape the stench, but also a hazard to their mental health.

They note that before the trash site officially moved into the lot right on the corner of the intersection, the dumpsters originally sat on the block a little further up. After being relocated to its current location, piles of trash were left behind near Shanelle’s home, leading people to believe it was still a dumping site.

Even during our conversation, they needed to take pauses to direct people to where they actually needed to go. From experience, Shanelle’s unofficial director role sounded more distressing with every directive given to those pulling up in their vehicles.

On top of that, they have to dodge growing numbers of yellowjacket wasps, which feed on waste, due to a deadly allergic reaction.

Shanelle had not taken their trash to the dump site but had brought it into the house to avoid rodents. But, they did consider going to their parents’ home in Baltimore just to escape the madness for a few days.

What else were neighbors saying?

While trash was the highest priority for everyone, a point from Todzsa English served as a reminder that it’s because trash is the one thing that all Philadelphians — regardless of their situation — share in common.

But, there are other city services that people shouldn’t forget were affected.

“Kids live in families where they can’t run the air conditioner all day, so they go to the library or pool to cool off and stay healthy,” English said. “You mean to tell me all these places [were] shut down?”

English, a block captain, also thinks that all residents could do a better job of maintaining their trash outside the bounds of a strike.

She pointed to poor habits, such as allowing dirt and debris to remain on the street after trash collection, or even how residents set out trash bags with holes, allowing rodents easier access.

She said she remembers a time when most neighbors would take the time to thoroughly clean the front of their houses. Now, “people think these workers are their maids and leave it everywhere,” English exclaims.

On the political side of things, Shanelle wonders what this means for Mayor Parker’s possible bid for reelection in 2027, mainly as a Black woman, who Shanelle says already receives the short end of the societal stick.

“This is gonna be the thing that people carry to the polls,” they say. “No matter what else she does.”

The Germantown neighbor says, as a person who is more likely to vote for a Black candidate, admittedly sometimes to a fault, they’re unsure if identity politics will be enough in the next couple of years to even secure their vote, and others who think like them.

However, moments like these remind neighbors like Shanelle and Hope Primas that it’s essential to be civically engaged and stay informed to be prepared ahead of emergencies like this one. They said it’s crucial, as they feel everybody affects each other’s quality of life.

“It’s like this house of cards where you remove one thing, and it all falls down, you know,” Shanelle ended.

Although an agreement has been reached, the contract needs to be signed after the Union votes. Trash collection won’t resume until Monday, July 14. Neighbors can and should set their trash out on their regularly scheduled pick-up day.

Note: We have updated this post to better reflect Primas’ sentiments on the issue by removing her approval of disposal and seeing it as “crucial for keeping waste centralized in one location,” as stated above. We also added context to clarify that she supports the full request for compensation for DC 33 workers and stands with them. And, we also removed any allusions to her age.

We thank Primas for reaching out to correct the misrepresentations and have made the necessary changes to reflect that.