Piles upon piles of garbage line the streets of Philadelphia, and as temperatures hover above 90 degrees, the stench is almost unbearable.

In the early hours of Tuesday, July 1, nearly ten thousand city workers walked off the job a few short minutes after their contract expired. Workers in sanitation, libraries, police dispatch, street maintenance, and water are all members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 (AFSCME DC 33), Philadelphia’s blue-collar municipal union. They are the city’s lowest-paid employees, making an average of $46,000 per year.

The union’s first strike in nearly forty years has seen the mounds of trash bags dubbed “Parker piles” after Mayor Cherelle Parker. In addition to garbage pickup, the strike has also closed libraries, pools, recreation centers, and other vital city buildings — showing the significance and value of DC 33 members and their work.