Republic demands Teamsters drop health insurance request, union says

Striking Teamsters Local 25 members say Republic Services Inc. won’t return to the negotiation table unless they drop their request to take the union’s health insurance instead of packages provided by the trash hauler.

Republic said Wednesday evening this is “inaccurate information.”

It’s been about a month and a half since the Teamsters went on strike, and about a month since the union and hauler last sat with a federal mediator to negotiate on July 18.

While the union is ready to resume negotiations at any time, Republic has not responded to the mediator’s request to return to the table, Teamsters Local 25 President Tom Mari said in a Tuesday evening statement.

“We’ve already filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against Republic at the National Labor Relations Board charging (the company’s) bargaining behavior is illegal,” Mari said. “Their demand to withdraw a proposal currently enjoyed by hundreds of Teamsters in the same industry before they return to the table is another violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

“Apparently, Republic would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their lawyers fighting Local 25 at the NLRB and in Federal Court than sitting across from us and bargaining in good faith,” he said.

The strike will only be resolved at the bargaining table when Republic allows Teamsters to take the union’s health insurance and matches the wages paid by Capitol Waste Services and Star Waste Systems, Mari said.

But a Republic spokesperson said it’s the union who is not bargaining in good faith, saying that the company is ready to meet with the Teamsters “when they are serious about reaching an agreement.”

“Returning to the negotiating table and actually negotiating are two very different things,” the spokesperson said. “Local 25 has encouraged the federal mediator to get us back to the negotiating table, but at the same time, the union indicates to us that it has no flexibility in any of its six demands.”

This includes switching to the union’s health plan, amnesty for actions (like vandalizing Republic trucks) taken by union members during the strike, the ability for Boston employees to strike in support of other labor actions around the country, and concerns with in-cab cameras, which Republic said “is standard practice in the transportation industry today.”

“The last time we met with Local 25, we made movement on several issues that the union said were important,” the spokesperson said. “Yet, the union made zero movement in response. They gave us their six demands in the morning and later that afternoon, gave us the exact same six demands.”

Republic has offered a wage increase of 43% over five years that would grant workers a 16% increase in the first year alone. The company also said it has a zero-premium health care package, and its combined value of wages and retirement benefits puts local Republic workers’ compensation ahead of those at other companies.

“If the Teamsters had accepted this offer, our drivers would make approximately $140,000 per year by the end of the contract,” Republic said.

Gov. Maura Healey demanded this week for Republic to be the one to resume negotiations.

On Monday, Healey released a letter she sent to Republic President and CEO Jon Vander Ark, in which she criticized the company for not answering her requests to speak with Vander Ark.

She also called Republic’s efforts to “resolve or even meaningfully address” the strike as “unacceptable.”

“For seven weeks now, trash and recycling have been piling up in neighborhoods during the heat of summer, impacting public health and quality of life for thousands of Massachusetts residents,” she said. “Communities across the state are being forced to bear the consequences and costs of stalled negotiations between your company and its workforce.”

Healey called the ongoing situation “beyond untenable.”

“Republic Services has an obligation to the communities it serves,” she said. “That obligation includes ensuring that labor disputes do not escalate to the point of endangering public well-being.”

Healey said her office is willing to assist in facilitating negotiations.

While Republic has been servicing trash collection routes in Gloucester and Manchester-by-the-Sea during the strike, it has not been picking up recycling. The two communities are are offering extended hours for residents to drop off recycling.

In Gloucester, residents may drop off recycling at the city Public Works yard, 28 Poplar St., noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday. The drop-off is for residential use only, public works staff will be on hand to assist and early arrival is strongly discouraged.

The regular trash collection schedule remains in place. Residents are asked to wait until 5 p.m. before reporting any missed pickups via https://seeclickfix.com/gloucester

In Manchester, residents are encouraged to drop off any missed trash or recycling if able at the town transfer station during its extended hours. The station, 201 Pine St., will be open 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, and Saturday, Aug. 16.

Contact Caroline Enos at [email protected].

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