Two weeks into a strike by Teamsters Union garbage collectors at Republic Services’ Cumming facility, the company is set to restart contract negotiations that stalled in March.
“The company did reach out through the mediator and wants to bargain tomorrow,” said Chuck Stiles, the Georgia political coordinator for Teamsters Local 728. Meanwhile, the 33 workers at Republic Services’ Cumming facility will keep picketing.
Republic Services said in a statement that it is “committed to continuing discussions with the union to reach an agreement that benefits our employees and our customers.”
The Cumming garbage collectors on July 8 joined a national Teamsters Union strike against Republic Services that started July 3 over the stalled contract negotiations. The walkout affects residential trash collection in Alpharetta and commercial pickup in the north metro Atlanta area.
The Teamsters have accused Republic Services of using Teamsters garbage collectors that it employs at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to break the strike in Cumming. The company denied the accusation, saying in a statement on Monday that its “staffing at the airport has not changed.” Republic Services has said it is continuing to provide garbage collection services for its Cumming location, using non-union staff from other facilities.
The Teamsters’ garbage collector strike against Republic Services has expanded to over 2,000 workers nationally in the past two weeks. On Friday, Republic Services and the Teamsters in California’s Bay Area struck a tentative deal, resulting in the resumption of trash collection.
To show “good faith” in the Cumming garbage workers’ negotiations this week with Republic Services, Stiles said, Teamsters’ workers paused a walkout on Saturday night at a major Republic Services landfill facility near Youngstown, Ohio. The Youngstown garbage collectors had walked off the job in solidarity with the 33 striking Teamsters workers in Cumming.
Since late June, the Teamsters have filed at least two unfair labor practices complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Republic Services, alleging it has made unilateral changes to their contract. The NLRB referees disputes between unions and employers over federal labor protections.