Philadelphia Strike Ends: Race & Inequality at Center of Municipal Workers' Fight for a Fair Wage

The largest municipal workers' strike in decades in the city of Philadelphia has ended after 9,000 members of AFSCME District Council 33, who are primarily sanitation workers, walked off the job a week ago. Growing piles of trash on the streets of Philadelphia brought the strike into clear view for city residents. Labor historian Francis Ryan says the workers won the hearts of a lot of Philadelphians" with a popular social media campaign. What I saw on the picket lines last week was a spark of social justice unionism," says Ryan. The average sanitation worker salary in Philadelphia is currently $46,000 a year, which the union has argued is not a living wage for workers required to live within the city limits.