While the Delaware River Port Authority spends on cultural institutions, some workers fight for the basics. At a time when the Delaware River Port Authority is giving millions of dollars to cultural institutions in the name of economic development, workers at the agency's freight-transfer facility in South Philadelphia are wondering whether they will ever get running water to wash their hands. Without water, the 10 workers whose jobs bring them in contact with dust and grease wash their hands with spray cleaners, such as Windex, in the winter. In the summer, they open a fire hydrant on the street. When the toilets freeze or break down, they have to use toilets elsewhere, such as at the Walt Whitman Bridge Administration Building.
Summer can bring bad smells.
The trailers that house the port yard's offices and the employees' combination lunch room and locker room show signs of leaking roofs, and workers said power was spotty. He said that fresh water was delivered to the yard, and that wastewater was carted out. Diemer said the agency was expected to decide this year what role it will play in the future of an intermodal facility in South Philadelphia. In July 1999, with no new contract in place, the Teamsters went on strike when the authority moved to replace them with a contractor who employed members of another Teamsters local at a lower hourly rate. The walkout shut down the yard and disrupted port operations for six days until the contractor, Trans Freight Systems Inc., agreed to hire the workers already employed there, removing them from the port authority's payroll.