As Philadelphia celebrated the 4th of July on Friday, negotiations between the striking AFSCME District Council 33 and Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration appeared to be at a standstill.The union represents thousands of municipal workers from a broad array of services,

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.

AFSCME District Council 33, which represents more than 9,000 city workers, went on strike at midnight June 30, impacting city services including trash and recycling collections, street and water repairs and maintenance, libraries and public pools, airport custodial services, licenses and inspections and public health services.