Republic announces end to short-lived worker strike

Republic Services of Atlanta announced Aug. 10 that the company has accepted an immediate and unconditional offer by Teamsters 728 to return to work. Earlier in the day, Teamsters representatives directed some employees to walk out on their jobs.

According to a release issued earlier in the week from the Teamsters, Republic broke federal law when it took work away from the company’s full-time mechanics and outsourced it to subcontractors.

"We believe that our people make everything possible, and [we] take pride in providing all employees with outstanding compensation and benefits and a great place to work," Scott Sterner, general manager of Phoenix-based Republic Services, says. "While this was a disappointing and avoidable episode, we're accepting the Teamsters 728 offer to return to work and resume negotiations next week."

The strike occurred before the Teamsters gave employees a chance to vote on a comprehensive proposal, the company says, and only briefly affected one of Republic's locations in the metro area—the Atlanta South business unit. Its impact on service and operations was minimal.

Republic announced that normal service will resume immediately.