Republic Services says Teamsters mediation to resume Tuesday

Republic Services, Phoenix, has announced mediation is set to continue July 15 amid a collection strike that started in Boston and has spread across the U.S. 

Company and Teamsters representatives met with a federal mediator Saturday in an attempt to reach an agreement on a new contract for the waste management company’s greater Boston employees.

Republic says the company made a formal proposal that included an immediate wage increase of nearly 16 percent and an approximate 43 percent pay increase over five years for its greater Boston employees. Negotiations were unsuccessful.

Republic says it has met for a total of 11 days with Teamsters, twice with a federal mediator. The mediator requested both sides return to the table July 15 and both parties agreed.

In a news release, Republic Services says it is confident its most recent proposal meets all of its employees’ demands, and that it expects Teamsters to bargain in the best interest of its employees.

The company released the following statement to Waste Today:

“Contrary to the many falsehoods the Teamsters are spreading, our offer outpaces competitors. When a wage proposal this significant is combined with zero-premium health care and generous retirement contributions, there is no question who is responsible for this ongoing strike: Teamsters Local 25 and its president Tom Mari.

It is time for the Teamsters to get serious about negotiations so our employees can return to work. Taking a page out of the Teamsters’ playbook, we encourage the public to call or text Tom Mari at 617-686-5875 and demand he end this strike.

Continued Teamsters’ claims that Republic Services does not fairly compensate its employees should be put where they belong: in the trash.   

We continue to bargain in good faith, but the Teamsters are not taking negotiations seriously.”