11 Jul Waste Collection Disruption in Bay Area Continues Into Friday Amid Teamsters Strike

A Republic Services truck empties a load of recycling in a stock photo provided by the company. About 40 members of the Teamsters Local 439 union chapter in San Joaquin County went on strike Tuesday. Waste collection in more than two dozen Bay Area communities was delayed as other Teamsters picketed in solidarity and other service providers that rely on Republic Services facilities were forced to delay their own pickups. (Republic Services via Bay City News)

By Thomas Hughes
Bay City News

A strike by workers at a Republic Services landfill in San Joaquin County that began Tuesday expanded on Wednesday and is expected to continue to disrupt waste collection throughout the Bay Area until a resolution is reached.

Collection for customers in San Jose, Solano County and several other communities was delayed during the stoppage.

Union City has set up alternative drop sites while the work stoppage continued Thursday into Friday and collection in the service area of RethinkWaste, a San Mateo County regional joint powers authority, was also disrupted.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have been advocating for a new contract for months in several cities around the nation, including the workers at the Forward Landfill south/southeast of the city of Stockton that employs about 40 union members represented by Teamsters Local 439.

Republic Services is the second largest company in the waste management sector in the United States. It had a market capitalization, or overall stock value, of about $75.2 billion as of Thursday. The company recorded a 3.8% growth in revenue in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same time in 2024 and employs about 42,000 people nationwide, according to Republic Services.

Nationwide, the Teamsters represent about 8,000 of those workers, and 2,000 were either on strike or picketing in solidarity as of Thursday, according to the union.

Teamsters members who service more than two dozen cities and counties in the Bay Area were not showing up to work in solidarity with those on strike, and some were picketing at other locations, according to Teamsters spokesperson Matt McQuaid.

McQuaid differentiated from members who were picketing at other Republic Services locations from those on strike but said those picketing would not be working while Local 439 and others in Illinois, Iowa, Georgia and Massachusetts.

In the Bay Area, workers were picketing at Ox Mountain Landfill in Half Moon Bay and Newby Island Resource Recovery Park in Milpitas, according to Joe La Mariana, the executive director of RethinkWaste, which uses both facilities but is not a party to the work dispute.

Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters’ general president, denounced Republic Services with fiery language in a statement that accused the company of starting a “war” with the union and criticized the company’s compensation to its regular employees versus its executives.

“The Teamsters have had it with Republic,” O’Brien’s statement said. “We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state. Workers are uniting nationwide, and we will get the wages and benefits we’ve earned, come hell or high water.”

Republic Services said in a statement that it was continuing pickups at essential businesses like hospitals, nursing homes and apartment complexes and offered an apology to its customers and thanked them for their patience.

“This work stoppage does not benefit our employees, our customers or the communities we serve. We are ready to continue discussions with the union to reach an agreement at Forward Landfill that benefits our employees, our customers and our company,” the statement said.

McQuaid said the union was ready for further talks at any time but put the ball in Republic Services’ court.

“It’s up to the company,” he said. “If they want to settle this, give us a call.”

Garbage collection in Union City at all residences and businesses is delayed until the stoppage ends. Recycling pickups at customers serviced by Republic Services are also suspended, but those serviced by Tri-CED Community Recycling are not impacted.

The city has established three drop-off sites in the meantime. Bins are available in the parking lot of the BART station at 11th Street and Decoto Road and at the Mark Green Sports Center, at 31224 Union City Blvd.

Residents can also bring their trash and recycling to the Fremont Recycling and Transfer Station located at 41149 Boyce Road and should bring proof of residency. The location is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Collection was also disrupted in the area serviced by RethinkWaste, which provides service to multiple communities in San Mateo County and brings its waste to the Ox Mountain Landfill owned by Republic Services.

In San Carlos, the Shoreway Transfer Station was closed, but the Shoreway Public Recycling Center will remain open, according to La Mariana, RethinkWaste’s executive director.

La Mariana said the agency was trying to minimize impacts to its customers.

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