“Can’t treat our workers like trash or we bring the trash to them”; Activists arrested after City Hall sit-in amid DC 33 strike

(WPHL) — Three people have been arrested after staging a sit-in and dumping trash at City Hall to fight for fair wages amid the ongoing District Council 33 strike.

The activists, who are part of the organization, Sunrise Movement, arrived at City Hall at 9:55 a.m. with trash bags in hand and sat down at the Northwest Quad entrance near the metal detectors.

PHL17 was on the scene as the protest began.

“We’re taking this fight to City Hall to show them that they can’t treat our workers like trash or we bring the trash to them.”, said Sultan Smalley, communications co-lead for the Sunrise Movement Philadelphia chapter.

“These are essential workers. They are on the front lines doing some of the most dangerous, some of the most important work for our city and they deserve to be treated with the respect and dignity that is necessitated by the importance of the work that they do, not in the way that they’re being treated right now.”, Smalley continued.

During this time, City Hall security shut down all entries to the building at the North Quad entrance for both visitors and employees alike and waited for the sheriff’s office to arrive.

Once police arrived, they removed the two men and woman, arrested them, and took them away in a Philadelphia Police Sheriff’s Office vehicle.

When asked about the decision to protest, Smalley said, “Trash is piling up at our parks, at our rec centers, and it’s unsafe for young people, and we need to bring this to the Mayor so that we can show her that this is an issue that she can’t ignore.”

“I want to be incredibly clear that our members will be staying here until Mayor Parker gives the union their demands. Mayor Parker claims that she wants to, create a cleaner, greener Philadelphia, but the way that she has been treating these workers is anathema to that. So we will not leave this space until she gives in to these demands, and that’s what we hope that she does, that she gives in to the demands that the striking workers are pushing for, and that’s the outcome that we hope for.”

According to the organization, “Sunrise is a movement of young people to stop the climate crisis and create millions of good jobs across the country.”