BOSTON — At a meeting here Aug. 3, members of Teamsters Local 25 voted by secret ballot to continue their strike against Republic Services by 93%. There are over 400 Teamsters on strike here. Republic is one of the largest trash-hauling companies in the U.S.
“Republic has refused to meet with us for more than 15 days and is disrespecting all of you because they refuse to bring your wages and benefits up to the standards that we established” with two smaller hauling companies, Local 25 President Tom Mari told the large turnout of striking workers.
“This is a fantastic display of commitment after five weeks on strike,” Milton DePina, field representative for Local 25, said. “Maybe now the company will realize that it’s not just the negotiating committee making these proposals for better wages and more comprehensive health insurance.” Local members had voted by 90% to go on strike July 1.
In addition to Boston, Republic workers went on strike for new contracts in Manteca, California; Lacey, Washington; Ottawa, Illinois; and Cumming, Georgia. Workers in Manteca and Lacey won contracts with significant gains and are now back at work. In Ottawa and Cumming the Teamsters are still walking the picket line.
Far and away the largest of the locals on strike, workers here have fanned out around the country to picket at other Republic Services union depots and landfills, where fellow workers refuse to cross in solidarity.
The day before the union meeting, workers on the picket lines at Republic facilities in Roxbury and Peabody told the Militant the union had decided to hold the revote because the company accused the union leadership of preventing workers from returning to work. The contract proposal “is the same stuff we already rejected,” Scott, a driver at the Peabody facility who asked that his last name not be used for fear of company retaliation, said. “Why would we go for it now?”
“The company was surprised when we voted to strike in July,” Francisco Gonzalez, a shop steward at Peabody, said. “They thought we were too divided. But we gave them a real wake-up call when we all went out together.”
At the picket line in Roxbury, shop steward Edward Lemus said this was his first strike. “It feels good,” he said. “On Saturday 150 people turned out for a solidarity rally.”
He explained that six years ago, he was working for another waste company and was assigned to pick up trash at a Stop and Shop. “When I got there, workers were on strike. When I saw the picket line I called the company and said it wasn’t safe to go in,” he said. “What I really meant was I wasn’t going to cross the line.”
“Republic is a huge corporation,” Lemus said. “It’s valued at nearly $75 billion. They want to become even bigger through acquisitions that are paid for at our expense.
“They’re bringing in nonunion Republic employees from all over the country to try to bust the strike,” he said. “Republic pays their airfare, hotel rooms, $450 a week for food, a big bonus, as well as their regular pay. Even with all that they’ve only been able to get 100 workers in to replace 450 of us. And some of them didn’t know they were being called in to break a strike.”
Nonunion workers ask to join
Workers from the nonunion Republic plant in Haverhill came to the union, saying the company was threatening to fire anyone who refused to cross the picket lines. When DePina stopped by the Peabody picket line to deliver refreshments and ice, he spoke about the poor conditions at the Haverhill plant.
“Through them we’ve been able to get a majority of workers in the facility to sign union cards and now we’re working at getting an election for union recognition,” he said. “We want to see Republic’s strikebreaking tactics backfire with workers at another facility joining the union and the strike.”
Spread the word and build solidarity! Contact Teamsters Local 25, 544 Main St., Boston, MA 02129-1113; Fax (617) 242-4284.