Over 400 members of Teamsters Local 25 in the Boston area are standing firm as their strike against Republic Services goes into its fifth week. “It’s not complicated,” Local 25 President Tom Mari told the Boston Herald July 30. “We will stay on strike until this multibillion dollar company comes to the bargaining table with a fair and equitable proposal.”
The union is fighting to win the same wage schedule and health insurance benefits that Teamsters who work for two other trash hauling companies in the area get. On strike since July 1, not one union member has crossed the picket lines.
Republic is using every bosses’ trick in the book trying to break the strike and turn public sentiment against these workers. But so far, they’ve failed. Instead, there is widespread solidarity.
The company is using nonunion workers and hired scabs in an attempt to work around the strike. But, bosses complained to the Herald, the union keeps blocking their trucks.
In a campaign in the big-business media, Republic has accused union members of vandalizing vehicles, hitting scabs and other illegal actions. They even claimed an unknown striking union member stole a truck from a Republic parking lot, but the truck was found in an adjacent lot with none of its contents disturbed.
On July 14, Republic filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for a restraining order to stop the union’s “unlawful conduct.” In just one week, Judge Brian Murphy rejected the company’s motions, saying they lacked evidence.
“Frankly, I’m not surprised,” Mari said in a statement. “As usual, Republic misled the court about our conduct. Maybe now Republic will come to its senses and come back to the bargaining table to resolve the strike.”
While the city of Boston doesn’t have a contract with Republic, the company does pick up trash at commercial customers, like restaurants in the city. With dumpsters overflowing, the city began to issue fines against them July 7. But as the company continued to stall contract talks, Mayor Michelle Wu directed city officials July 23 to issue the fines directly against Republic, demanding the company fulfill its obligations to its customers and pay for the fines issued against them.
Strike action across the country
Once the strike started in Boston, Local 25 members fanned out to Republic depots and landfills across the country, where up to 2,000 Teamsters working for Republic went out in solidarity.
In addition to Boston, strikes for new contracts took place in Manteca, California; Lacey, Washington; Ottawa, Illinois; and Cumming, Georgia. While the Teamsters have settled in Manteca and Lacey, the strike continues in the other two cities. Local 728 in Cumming reports the bosses made an “insulting” offer there July 29, then walked away from the bargaining table.
Teamsters in Illinois had the same experience. Local 179 President Chris Richter told the press they made some progress in the last negotiating session July 23, but “health care is still a major component.” The bosses declined to continue talking.
In Manteca, the three dozen workers at the company’s landfill won their first-ever contract. Gilbert Gomez, of Teamsters Local 439, said they won health care for about $10 a week for five years. “A lot of guys were paying anything from $400 to $1,200 a month,” he told KQED.
In Lacey, Teamsters Local 252 workers also won an improved contract. “They deserve to have a fair, living wage,” Rick Sannes, a Republic customer, told KIRO 7 News, “and collective bargaining is part of the drill to get that.”
To send solidarity, contact Teamsters Local 25, 544 Main St., Boston, MA 02129-1113; Fax (617) 242-4284.