Bay Area trash pickup comes to a halt as workers join nationwide garbage ‘war’

Bay Area sanitation workers this week joined what a union leader called a nationwide garbage war between the Teamsters and Republic Services which provides trash and recycling pickups for hundreds of thousands of residents around the U S over wages and working conditions In a declaration Wednesday Teamsters General President Sean O Brien declared union members will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state By Thursday Fremont Union City and Newark residents were left awaiting collections as Teamsters workers employed by Republic Services picketed outside the Forward Landfill in Manteca demanding better wages and benefits Members of the Republic Services Teamsters from Forward Landfill in Manteca Ganilo Santos left and Jesus Gomez strike in front of Republic Services in Fairfield on Tuesday July in promotion of a nationwide sanitation strike Chris Riley Times-Herald Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years and now they ve got one noted Teamsters General President Sean M O Brien Republic abuses and underpays workers across the country They burn massive profits and funnel money to undeserving corrupt executives The Teamsters have had it with Republic Republic Services which services cities throughout Northern California stated Tuesday that workers would skip residential trash collection for at least two days By Thursday the stoppages continued and full collection bins throughout the Bay Area began to line the streets Republic reported affected areas in Northern California include Stockton San Jose Solano County Fairfield Suisun City San Pablo Richmond Hercules Pinole Rodeo Crockett El Sobrante Piedmont East Richmond Heights Bay View Tara Hills North Richmond Rollingwood Union City Newark Fremont Half Moon Bay Daly City and Colma Teamsters Local union workers at Forward Landfill in Manteca have been negotiating a first contract since last year and have set up picket lines at Republic-operated sites throughout the country which other unions have agreed not to cross Having in recent times unionized Local workers say they are asking for a contract consistent with the cost of living paid to other Teamsters at waste management companies throughout the rest of the country Republic did not at once respond Thursday to a request for comment regarding negotiations Teamsters union members in Boston on July first hit the picket lines outside of Republic facilities and since then other members and union allies throughout the country followed suit In a announcement Wednesday the company explained we are making adjustments to our operations to continue providing operation during this situation We apologize for any inconvenience this situation may cause It is still unclear how long the operational shutdowns will continue Mark Uribe a Fremont resident stated if the collections don t resume sometime soon he will fill his bin a much as it will handle and if necessary pile his trash in the street in front of his house until a garbage truck eventually shows up He acknowledged the union workers demands for better pay saying bills aren t getting any cheaper and adding that I understand everybody wants a little bit more to make their lives a little easier But he stated as trash begins to mount across the nation I can see how it could get ugly quick I can respect what they re shooting for but we have to suffer for it Uribe commented in an interview Thursday It s going to get nasty within a couple days Somebody s going to have to do something Related Articles Patients employees worried about Oakland hospital s future after strike Gov Newsom Legislature tangle with construction unions over minimum wage Labor union files lawsuit against Newsom s return-to-office push as deadline looms Hundreds of union workers strike at UCSF Benioff Children s Hospital Oakland Borenstein This Bay Area city s half-century of pension taxes provides a cautionary tale Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia on Wednesday disclosed that county residents could expect pick-up services to resume by Thursday with delayed pickups expected to trickle through the week to Saturday Still no garbage collection the present day Gioia wrote Wednesday If your cart is full bag any extra garbage and place it next to the cart to be picked up when facility resumes anticipated later this week Fremont spokeswoman Geneva Bosques stated this news organization Wednesday that she understands Republic was operating a light skeleton crew doing a few high priority pickups such as hospitals though all residential pickup in the city was halted She mentioned it is unclear when services would resume throughout the city and commented our understanding is that it s day to day Teamsters members continue to threaten a longer strike Teamsters spokesman Matthew McQuaid blamed the strike actions on Republic This is their fault Everything that s happened since July that s their fault McQuaid mentioned in an interview They could settle this in the present day by giving their workers what they deserve Or things could continue or maybe even get worse Trash is piled in a blue bin outside a business in Fremont Calif on Thursday July Sanitation workers halted garbage pickup across the Bay Area this week as part of a larger ongoing Teamsters union strike effort happening throughout the US Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group