Posts tagged sanitation workers
Republic Services and Teamsters reach 5-year agreement in Boston
September 25, 2025 // After the Boston-area strike began, other Teamsters locals across the country either went on strike for their own contracts or halted work in solidarity. At the peak of the action in mid-July, more than 2,000 Republic Services workers represented by Teamsters were off the job. Since then, three other local chapters have reached agreements with Republic Services and returned to work. Teamsters Local 728, which represents 32 Republic Services employees in Cumming, Georgia, remains on strike over alleged unfair labor practices, according to a union official. Republic workers represented by the local in Columbus, Ohio, walked out last week in solidarity with members already on strike.
AFL-CIO rallies Atlanta workers to unionize ahead of Labor Day
July 24, 2025 // AFL-CIO, brought its “It’s Better in a Union” national bus tour to Atlanta, rallying workers across industries to organize and demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions. The event, held in partnership with the Atlanta chapter of the AFL-CIO, drew workers from restaurants, healthcare, sanitation, and logistics, many of whom say they’re fed up with corporations profiting while employees struggle to make ends meet. “We’re doing everything, but we’re not rewarded for what we’re doing,” said Teresa Kennard, a Waffle House employee who spoke during the rally. “We all know there is power in numbers.”
Commentary: Throwing out the garbage? Did you ask your local union first?
July 9, 2025 // The behavior of public-sector unions is enough to make you puke. This is true figuratively, when, as a matter of course, these groups bankrupt cities and states with unsustainable contract demands and tie the hands of elected officials to run the governments voters chose them to lead. But it was also true literally in Philadelphia, where an eight-day strike caused trash to pile up across the city.
Philadelphia’s largest city workers union votes to authorize strike; no walkout at this time
November 15, 2024 // District 33 has vowed to give a 10-day warning about any strike. The union represents at least 9,000 mostly blue-collar employees, including sanitation workers. They have been working without a contract since July
Philly’s largest city workers union votes to authorize strike during rush-hour rally
November 3, 2024 // During the rally, the union members held a voice vote to authorize a strike, FOX29 reported, but the union is expected to take a formal vote during a meeting in the next week. Union leaders will give Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration a 10-day notice about a potential strike, 6ABC reported. In August, District Council 33 submitted a 17-page proposal for a four-year contract that included pay raises, better pension plans, alternate work schedules, pandemic relief and a change in the residency requirement that most workers live in the city.
NORTH CAROLINA: Sanitation workers say Tuesday will be end of 6-day strike in Durham
September 11, 2023 // The group said Monday that the city’s Solid Waste Management Department threatened to stop paying them while the strike continued on. The strike had come with a demand for a $5,000 bonus, among other requirements. On Friday, CBS 17 was in downtown Durham when many solid waste workers held a rally. Several sanitation employees have told CBS 17 they make between $19 to $25 an hour. According to the union, wages have gone up by 15% since 2019, but inflation and cost of living have increased by nearly 23%.
Memphis: Sanitation workers reach agreement with pay increases, more after nine-day strike
April 25, 2023 // After a nine-day strike, sanitation workers in Memphis signed a five-year contract with Republic Services. The agreement, which applies to workers at both the South Memphis and Millington landfills who are unionized under Teamsters Local 667, will mean increased pay for regular hours worked as well as increases for safety. The workers took down their picket lines Friday in anticipation of the agreement with Republic Services. The strike lasted nine days, with organizers drawing comparisons to the historic sanitation worker strike of 1968.
NJ, NY Sanitation Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Flush Unwanted Teamsters Union
March 22, 2022 // Mr. John Operations employees voted 30-10 to oust union officials from workplace in Labor Board decertification election
Trash strike fallout continues for sanitation workers
March 10, 2022 // In December, 250 union workers walked off the job, demanding better pay and benefits. After a month of trash piling up around areas of San Diego and the South Bay, workers voted on and ratified a final offer from Republic on Jan. 17, and they went back to work the next day.