The garbage collection strike by city sanitation workers lasted eight days and four hours before a deal was reached for a new contract.

Residents with trash arriving at garbage dump site at Caldera Road and Red Lion Road in northeast Philadelphia. AFSCME District Council 33 workers enter their second week on strike, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

By Emily Bloch, Philadelphia Inquirer

    The city worker strike in Philadelphia — the first major city strike since 1986 — is over and the union employees are returning to work.

    JUMP TO SECTION

    How long did the Philadelphia trash strike last?

    How long was the last major city strike?

    When do union employees go back to work?

    What’s in the new contract?

    When will Philly trash pickup resume?

    Are Philadelphia pools open?

    Are Philadelphia libraries open?

    Are the trash drop-off sites still active?

    That’s about 9,000 trash collectors, 911 dispatchers, street pavers, library employees, and more resuming operations on Wednesday. So, does that mean you can return your library books? Or, perhaps the most pressing question being asked in Philly today: When will trash be picked up again?

    Here’s what we know — and don’t know — so far.

    Read the full story here


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