Republic employees vote to continue trash collector strike
On Sunday, Republic Services employees voted to continue the strike that has lasted five weeks already and left cities and towns struggling to remove trash from their streets.
Republic employees vote to continue strike
The trash collectors at Republic, part of Teamsters Local Union 25, walked off the job July 1, over negotiations about wages, health insurance and other issues, leaving 14 Massachusetts communities without trash collection.
Teamsters Local Union 25 President Tom Mari claimed, Republic has disrespected employees and refused to meet for "more than 15 days."
The union reviewed an offer made by the company on July 18 before Republic employees voted by secret ballot to reject the offer and continue the strike.
"The decision to stay on strike carried by 93%. It was a fantastic display of commitment after five weeks of the strike. In fact, a larger percentage of employees voted to continue the strike today than voted to strike on July 1," Mari said.
Communities want strike to end
The strike has left many communities struggling with piles of garbage and recycling, forcing them to take action.
About three weeks into the strike, the communities of Canton, Danvers, Gloucester, Beverly, Peabody and Malden brought suit to force Republic to pick up the garbage.
Also, earlier this month, Governor Maura Healey called on Republic to cut a deal with employees and end the strike, saying, "Republic Services needs to come to the table and reach a fair deal - it's time to get people back to work and resume services to our communities as soon as possible."
The town of Peabody even wrote a letter to Bill Gates asking for his help to end the strike.
Republic has contracts for trash pickup in 14 cities and towns across Massachusetts and with businesses in other communities, including Newton and Boston.
Republic responds to union's decision
Republic said that is has offered a 16% increase in wages the first year and a 43% wage increase over the life of the contract as well as a zero-premium healthcare plan to union employees.
However, both the union and Republic have sited amnesty for strike-related actions as something that the two sides are grappling over. The union wants amnesty for its members. Republic has questioned the need for amnesty.
"Teamsters Local 25 continues to claim that it is not engaging in unlawful and disruptive tactics yet demands amnesty for its members. If no laws have been broken, why is amnesty for strike-related behavior one of the union's primary goals?" Republic said in a prepared statement in response to the union's vote. "We remain ready to meet with union leadership when they are serious about reaching an agreement."