Philly Medical Examiner's Office Employees Ordered to Return to Work Due to Amount of Bodies in Storage
- Thousands of District Council 33 municipal workers began a strike on Tuesday in Philadelphia, halting garbage collection and other city services.
- The strike stems from stalled negotiations over pay and benefits despite the city offering a three-year contract with raises exceeding 13%, which the union rejected.
- The strike caused trash piles on city streets and led to multiple city-filed injunctions ordering employees including 911 dispatchers and water department workers to return to work.
- Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Theil emphasized the importance of cooperation, expressing a desire for members of District Council 33 to join their team as Medical Examiner’s Office personnel were mandated to return to work amid a mounting backlog of bodies.
- The strike’s continuation indicates ongoing tensions and unresolved economic issues, pressuring the city to negotiate further amid public criticism and operational disruptions.
21 Articles
21 Articles
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Philadelphia union strike has extended into a third day today.

Philadelphia aims to control trash pileups ahead of holiday weekend as city workers strike continues
A strike by nearly 10,000 city workers in Philadelphia has stretched into a third day. Trash continued to pile up Thursday in some areas, and a judge ordered more than 30 Medical Examiner’s Office staffers back to work because of a growing backlog of bodies in storage.
City moves trash collection sites as images of garbage pileups go viral
Philly officials moved a temporary trash collection site at 18th and Catharine streets after viral images of overflowing garbage circulated on Reddit, Twitter and TikTok. Another location in Chestnut Hill disappeared.
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