Teamsters' trash workers strike spreads across US, trash piles up from Boston to California

The Teamsters union's trash-workers strike has spread from Boston to California as Republic Services employees on the West Coast stand in solidarity with their colleagues on the East Coast amid trash pileups.

A total of about 450 Republic Services workers represented by the union in the Boston area have been on strike since July 1. But the work stoppage has spread to Southern California and now includes several thousand workers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Sanitation workers have stopped working in cities in the Bay Area and the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego.

Delays in trash collection began in Anaheim last week, and city officials said Sunday that only half of the customers in the downtown area have had their trash removed and that last week's pickups were expected to be made up in the coming days. 

A Teamsters spokesman and Los Angeles officials said that on Monday, the work stoppage now includes parts of Los Angeles County.

While trash workers outside Boston are not on strike themselves, they have chosen to not cross the picket line in an effort to put pressure on Republic Services, the nation's second-largest trash and recycling company. The Teamsters union has promised more such strike extensions.

“Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years — and now, they’ve got one,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement, accusing Republic Services of underpaying rank-and-file employees while giving executives multimillion-dollar compensation packages.

“The Teamsters have had it with Republic. We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state.”

The union and Republic Services met with a federal mediator on Friday but did not reach a deal. Republic Services criticized the Teamsters, saying the union is “a threat to our employees and our communities.” The company explained that its pay proposal would increase compensation by 43% over five years, and include generous retirement contributions and “zero-premium healthcare.”

Republic Services was also fighting the inclusion of a contract provision that let Boston Teamsters join work stoppages by fellow union members across the country.

Tonya Shelton, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation, confirmed that curbside trash and recycling services have not yet been affected by the work stoppage.

However, she said that “Republic has notified us that collections on recycLA commercial routes in South L.A. may be impacted and that they have activated their contingency plan as required pursuant to the terms of their agreement as a recycLA service provider to the City.”

Victor Mineros, the director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division, said in a statement, “To the millions of Americans seeing their trash pile up because of Republic’s strike, remember one thing: This corporation has hauled in $77 billion. Republic can easily afford a fair and competitive contract that meets the needs of everyday hardworking Americans.”