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Healey amps up pressure on Republic Services to end ‘untenable’ trash strike
“The fact that you haven’t returned my calls is a reflection of your unacceptable approach to this urgent matter,” Gov. Maura Healey said to the head of the waste removal company.
For more than six weeks, waste removal services across Massachusetts have been disrupted and delayed by a work stoppage involving Teamsters employed by Republic Services. With an end to the strike apparently nowhere in sight, Gov. Maura Healey again entered the fray this week with harsh words for Republic’s president.
Healey expressed her “deep concern and disappointment” in a letter to Republic President Jon Vander Ark Monday. Healey accused Vander Ark of not returning her messages and blamed him for allowing the strike to endanger public health.
Not only has Republic failed to resolve the strike, the company has not even meaningfully addressed the work stoppage, Healey wrote. She decried how trash and recycling are piling up in numerous Massachusetts communities.
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“This situation is beyond untenable. Republic Services has an obligation to the communities it serves. That obligation includes ensuring that labor disputes do not escalate to the point of endangering public well-being,” Healey wrote.
Republic is a Phoenix-based company that generates about $16 billion a year in revenue. Fourteen Massachusetts communities contract with Republic for municipal waste collection, mostly on the North Shore. In addition, Massachusetts has many commercial customers that rely on Republic, including a number of restaurants and apartment buildings.
More than 400 members of Teamsters Local 25 began striking at the beginning of July in an effort to increase wages and improve benefits. The standoff grew uglier and more contentious over the following weeks.
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Republic sued the Teamsters, alleging a range of criminal acts and blaming picketing workers for disrupting operations as replacement workers attempt to fill in the gaps in service. A judge twice denied Republic’s request for an injunction.
Six of the communities that contract with Republic sued the company, saying that Republic had failed to adequately collect and dispose of waste. A judge acknowledged that there is an “obvious problem” but ultimately concluded that the court has no effective way of remediating it. Republic also faced lawsuits from unhappy commercial customers dealing with overflowing dumpsters and sporadic pickups.
Through it all, negotiations marked by accusations of lying and bad-faith bargaining broke down behind the scenes, despite the intervention of a federal mediator. The two sides last met on July 18.
Around that time, Healey called on Republic to reach a deal that gives the Teamsters the wages, benefits, and labor protections they are looking for. Healey’s frustration with Republic appears to have grown over the last few weeks.
“The fact that you haven’t returned my calls is a reflection of your unacceptable approach to this urgent matter,” she wrote in the recent letter to Vander Ark. “The time for delay and posturing is over. It is time to resolve this – now.”
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Republic maintains that it has been in touch with Healey’s office.
“We have been in contact with Gov. Healey’s office during this Teamsters-led work stoppage. In response to today’s letter, we are working to schedule a call with the Governor to provide an update on negotiations and our operations. As there are two sides to every negotiation, we would expect that Gov. Healey also sent a similar demand to Teamsters Local 25,” a Republic spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.
Republic says that it currently has the capacity to service all customers in Greater Boston but blamed the striking Teamsters for blocking trucks and dumpster access.
The company’s negotiators are ready to meet with their Teamster counterparts “when they are serious about reaching an agreement,” the Republic spokesperson said.
Teamsters employed by Republic overwhelmingly voted last week to continue the strike. The union is ready to meet with Republic at any time, a spokesperson said.
“Republic’s continued bogus claims of unlawful conduct are nothing but lies. There have been no arrests, and the federal court judge has twice refused to issue an injunction because of the lack of any unlawful conduct,” a Teamsters spokesperson said in a recent statement. “Republic’s inability to provide adequate service is because they don’t have enough non-union drivers and the ones that they have are not capable of operating their trucks in an efficient manner.”
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Healey is not the only prominent elected official to get involved. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said last month that Republic’s inadequate services were taking an “unacceptable toll” on residents and businesses in the city. She is imposing fines for health and safety code violations directly on Republic. Many members of Congress from Massachusetts also demonstrated their support for the Teamsters and called on Republic to reach a deal.
Healey’s administration is ready to “assist in facilitating dialogue if needed,” the governor wrote.
“But make no mistake: this matter demands your direct attention and immediate action,” she added.
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