Philadelphia’s largest municipal union, AFSCME District Council 33, ended its first strike in nearly four decades after reaching a tentative agreement with Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration early on 9 July. The walk-out began at 12:01 a.m. on 1 July, when contract talks broke down, and drew roughly 9,000 blue-collar employees from the sanitation, water, 911 dispatch and other departments off the job. During the eight-day stoppage the city suspended curbside trash collection, shuttered some libraries and pools, and relied on temporary drop-off sites and non-union staff to keep essential services operating. Judges issued successive injunctions forcing more than 200 emergency call-takers, water-department crews and medical-examiner employees back to work, underscoring public-safety concerns as temperatures climbed and garbage piled up. Negotiations revolved around wages. The Parker administration’s final public offer—described by the mayor as the largest first-term pay proposal in three decades—promised more than a 12 % increase over four years. Union leaders sought 5 % raises annually and broader benefit changes. Marathon talks over the July 4 holiday narrowed the gap but left the union facing mounting legal pressure and uncertain public tolerance for extended service disruptions. The compromise provides 3 % pay increases in each of the next three years, a new fifth salary step worth an additional 2 % for veteran workers, and a $1,500 signing bonus. City officials say the package will lift average pay by roughly $11,000 over the contract term, boosting total raises to about 14 % during Parker’s tenure at a cost of $115 million. District Council 33 members are scheduled to vote on ratification next week; regular trash collection is slated to resume on 14 July while cleanup of more than 60 temporary dumping sites continues.