21 Jul Trash Workers Returned to Work Saturday as Strike Ends

(Republic Services via Bay City News)

By Bay City News

Unionized garbage workers were back on the job Saturday, ending a strike that left garbage piling up across Bay Area municipalities.

Republic Services, a waste management company, said Friday it had reached an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to end the walkout that began July 8.

“We’ve reached a tentative agreement with Teamsters Local 439 for our Forward Landfill employees,” Republic said in an emailed statement. “Local 439 has informed us that picket lines are coming down across the Bay Area, and our employees are returning to work tomorrow.”

“We will work hard to catch up with needed recycling and waste collection as quickly as we can,” Republic said.

No details of the agreement were released.

San Mateo County Supervisor David J. Canepa, who broke the news in a social media post, welcomed the development.

“We can expect the garbage to finally be picked up,” said Canepa, the president of the county Board of Supervisors.

On Thursday, Canepa had warned the Phoenix-based corporation that he might invoke emergency powers, including “pursuing alternative waste management partners,” unless it acted to end the strike.

In a letter to Republic’s chief executive officer, Jon Vander Ark, Canepa said the strike was “becoming a public health crisis, with rotting waste threatening sanitation, safety and quality of life.”

Referring to the strike as an internal dispute between the company and the union, Canepa said. “it’s time for Republic Services to do what’s right and settle a fair contract — now.”

The strike affected communities including Daly City, Fairfield, Fremont, Half Moon Bay, Newark, Piedmont, San Jose, Stockton, Suisun City and Union City, according to the Republic Services website.

The strike occurred amidst national contract negotiations between the Teamsters and Republic Services, the second-largest waste management company in the U.S.

Regionally, the strikes began due to contract negotiations between the company and Teamsters members working at Forward Landfill in Manteca, according to the Republic Services website.

The Teamsters union represents about 8,000 of Republic Services’ 42,000 employees.

Many Republic Services employees in the Bay Area had refused to cross picket lines, Republic Services shared on its website.

“We respect the rights of our employees to engage in collective bargaining and are committed to meeting the service needs of our customers,” the company said.

Limited trash collection previously resumed in parts of Half Moon Bay, Newark, Fairfield and Fremont, according to the cities’ respective websites.

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