The Republic Services garbage collectors strike in Cumming that began July 8 when local Teamsters Union members stopped trash pickups for residential customers in Alpharetta and commercial customers in the metro area, shows no signs of stopping.
The Cumming trash collectors, who belong to Teamsters Local 728, joined a national walkout that kicked off July 3 over stalled contract negotiations between the union and Republic Services. The Teamsters started bargaining with Republic Services for new contracts by location in March, demanding better pay and working conditions.
By Monday, the garbage strike had grown to over 2,000 workers nationally. The most recent Republic Services location to strike has shut down a landfill in Youngstown, Ohio, which handles 6,000 tons of trash a day.
As the 33 Cumming workers enter their second week on strike, Teamsters Local 728 is alleging that Republic Services is violating federal labor law to try and break it. To cover their trash collection routes, Local 728 representative Chuck Stiles said, the company is using workers from a separate facility that services Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Those workers are also unionized with Teamsters Local 728, but contractually they don’t have the right to join the strike, Stiles said. But Republic Services’ use of them as “strike-breakers,” he said, “changes the game.” Local 728 is going to meet with city officials this week “to see about the airport contract,” he said. “As long as the company breaks the law, we’ll continue to stay on strike.”
Republic Services did not respond to a request for comment. Last week the company said it was prepared to negotiate.
