Latest news with #cityWorkers
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Something stinks in Philadelphia – and it's not just the uncollected garbage
If nobody stopped me, I could talk about urban sanitation for hours on end. Unfortunately, somebody (normally my wife) always stops me – usually in the first minute or two. It seems few people share my pathological fixation with littering and ways to optimise waste management. Until recently, that is. Now every single resident of Philadelphia, my home town, is talking trash. Almost 10,000 city workers, members of the city's largest blue-collar union, went on strike for eight days, affecting everything from libraries to public swimming pools. But the most visible signs of the strike were the huge piles of trash that accumulated (nicknamed 'Parker Piles' after mayor Cherelle Parker) because there was no garbage pickup. Did I mention it has been boiling hot? You can imagine the situation. The rats are in heaven; I am in hell. Early on Wednesday, a deal was finally done. The trash is still there, however. While I have been a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it seems the stinky trash piles did exactly what they were meant to do: remind everyone that the people who keep society running are underpaid and overworked. The world had a brief moment of appreciation for essential workers during the pandemic, but, after everyone finished their nightly clapping, nothing changed, did it? The rich just got richer. The strike started because the mayor said there wasn't enough money in the city's budget to give the union what it wanted, which was better benefits and a 5% wage increase a year for three years. (The union has accepted a three-year deal that will represent a 14% pay increase for members over the four years of Parker's term; the agreement is still to be ratified.) Sanitation workers in Philadelphia make $39,000 to $42,000 (£29,000 to £31,000) a year. I am obviously no expert in the city's budget, but it's funny what there was money for before the strike. There was a cool $877m (£645m) for the Philadelphia police department. Which, by the way, is spending $1.3m on a new uniform that is a slightly darker shade of blue. There was enough money to pay Parker the same sort of salary (about $270,000) as the mayor of the significantly larger New York City. There was enough money, according to analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer last year, for 16 of Parker's closest cabinet members to collectively earn $3.5m – $1m more than their peers earned under the previous mayor. 'Don't tell me what you value,' Joe Biden used to say. 'Show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value.' Now that a deal has been done, I hope Philadelphia starts valuing clean streets – because the current situation stinks. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. This article was amended on 9 July 2025 to include details of the pay deal agreed between the mayor of Philadelphia and the public sector workers' union on the morning of 9 July.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Something stinks in Philadelphia – and it's not just the uncollected garbage
If nobody stopped me, I could talk about urban sanitation for hours on end. Unfortunately, somebody (normally my wife) always stops me – usually in the first minute or two. It seems few people share my pathological fixation with littering and ways to optimise waste management. Until recently, that is. Now every single resident of Philadelphia, my home town, is talking trash. Almost 10,000 city workers, members of the city's largest blue-collar union, have been on strike since last Tuesday, affecting everything from libraries to public swimming pools. But the most visible signs of the strike are the huge piles of trash that are accumulating (nicknamed 'Parker Piles' after mayor Cherelle Parker) because there is no garbage pickup. Did I mention it's boiling hot? You can imagine the situation. The rats are in heaven; I am in hell. While I may be a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, the stinky trash piles are obviously doing exactly what they are meant to be doing: reminding everyone that the people who keep society running are underpaid and overworked. The world had a brief moment of appreciation for essential workers during the pandemic, but, after everyone finished their nightly clapping, nothing changed, did it? The rich just got richer. The mayor has said there simply isn't enough money in the city's budget to give the union what it wants, which is better benefits and a 5% wage increase a year for three years. Sanitation workers in Philadelphia make $39,000 to $42,000 (£29,000 to £31,000) a year. I am obviously no expert in the city's budget, but it's funny what there is money for. There is a cool $877m (£645m) for the Philadelphia police department. Which, by the way, is now spending $1.3m on a new uniform that is a slightly darker shade of blue. There is enough money to pay Parker the same sort of salary (about $270,000) as the mayor of the significantly larger New York City. There is enough money, according to analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer last year, for 16 of Parker's closest cabinet members to collectively earn $3.5m – $1m more than their peers earned under the previous mayor. 'Don't tell me what you value,' Joe Biden used to say. 'Show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value.' I hope Philadelphia starts valuing clean streets soon, because the current situation stinks. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
CBS News
05-06-2025
- CBS News
Berkeley homeless encampment cleared in surprise sweep
A group of homeless people in West Berkeley was awakened Wednesday morning by a swarm of police and city workers, arriving to clear out a long-standing encampment. No notice was given that the sweep was coming, and advocates said it's a reflection of the public's changing attitudes about the homeless. The sweep began about 6:00 in the morning, and the people living in the encampment said it came as a complete surprise to them. "There was, like, dozens of police. They were shaking people's tents, shaking the fences. They were, like, you need to get out, you have 20 minutes to leave," said Yesica Prado, who lives in an RV on 8th Street. "We got no notice. There was no paper notice that we got." "And I wasn't given any notice, so I feel like highway robbery is happening right now," said another resident of the camp named Michael. "There's no one offering any services. The city will not talk to me. The city won't talk to any of us." The sweep may have happened quickly, but it was a long time in the making. The tent encampment along 8th and Harrison Streets in Berkeley had been there for years and can even be seen in the Google Maps satellite picture. Prado, who's lived in the neighborhood for eight years, sued the city in 2023 to keep the camp from closing down and as recently as last week got a court hearing scheduled for June 10. "To determine whether the encampment can remain or not," she said. "And the fact that they came before that date is, like, OK, I guess they don't care what the court says? Yeah, we just don't understand what's going on here." The city said the encampment has been a major problem, with 20 percent of their homeless efforts being focused around that one intersection. It's been cleaned up before, but quickly returned with little the city could do about it. Then, the Supreme Court handed down its "Grant's Pass" ruling, saying cities can enforce no-camping orders, even if they don't have a housing alternative to offer. That changed everything, said Ian Cordova Morales, president of a homeless advocacy group called "Where Do We Go?" "It's just become lawless," he said. "They've become lawless — the police and the city and everyone. They're just not following any of the old protocols. They're not giving notice. They're arresting people. They're doing whatever they want now. They've taken what the Supreme Court said about their abilities to arrest people and they've just gone full bore." No one would go on camera on Wednesday, but when asked if any notice had been given, city spokesperson Matthai Chakko said the campers had been told in January that they could not stay there. He said there are about 400 homeless people living on the streets of Berkeley on any given night, and no encampment has received more attention from the city than the one at 8th and Harrison. But when KPIX pressed the question, Chakko admitted that no notice had been given about the morning's cleanup operation. It seems the public is losing its compassion for the unhoused. "We are seeing a lot more people complaining about homelessness, a lot more communities getting together to advocate against homeless encampments being in their area," said Cordova Morales. "And generally, people are demanding that sweeps happen now, rather than people get connected with services. And it's really made everything that we're doing a lot harder." And of course, the get-tough attitude still doesn't answer that nagging question. "'Where do they go?' I don't know. The message is, 'Don't go to Berkeley.' Berkeley wants them to leave town, absolutely," he said. "There's no place for people to go. I don't know where they expect them to go. Go to jail, I guess — or to your grave." Where do they go? It's a question that has plagued cities since people began pitching tents on the sidewalks. And there don't seem to be any answers coming from the Supreme Court on that one.
