Stockton city officials say that despite the sanitation workers’ strike against Republic Services, residential garbage collection is going to resume starting Thursday.
“We’ll start seeing trash being picked up a little bit more quickly,” Stockton spokesperson Tony Manor told Stocktonia via email on Wednesday.
The city said in a social media post that customers who normally put their cans out to be emptied on Tuesdays will be the first to see the resumption of pickups on Thursday.
Residents whose trash pickup days are Wednesdays can expect to see Republic Services trucks rolling up to their houses on Friday. The two-day delay will continue until regular service can be restored, the city said.
There will be no trash pickup on Sunday.
Because customers will likely have accumulated more garbage than usual, drivers will collect extra bags that piled next to trash containers, the city said.
Retired worker Tom Coffey, left, and current worker Emanuel Flores, right, picket at Republic Services in Stockton, CA on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection for Stockton residents until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/ Stocktonia) 
Worker Sulena Picard, left, and retiree Tom Coffey, right, picket at Republic Services in Stockton, CA on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection for Stockton residents until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/ Stocktonia) 
Retired worker Tom Coffey pickets at Republic Services in Stockton, CA on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection for Stockton residents until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/ Stocktonia) 
From left, members of Teamsters Local 439 Ricardo Martinez, Laurenio Braga and Secretary-Treasurer Sal Lomeli picket at the Republic Forward Landfill in Manteca. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia) 
Teamsters Local 439 member Laurenio Braga displays Teamster pins while picketing at the Republic Forward Landfill in Manteca, CA on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection for Stockton residents until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia) 
Teamsters Local 439 is leading the picketing at the Republic Forward Landfill in Manteca. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia) 
A picket sign reading “Hold your nose” rests next to a car at the Republic Forward Landfill in Manteca on Tuesday during a strike by trash haulers. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia) 
Teamsters Local 439 Secretary-Treasurer Sal Lomeli pickets at the Republic Forward Landfill in Manteca on Tuesday. The strike calls for a fair contract and halts waste collection for customers in Stockton and nearby cities until demands are met. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia)
“If this progresses, they will activate what they call their Blue Team,” Manor said.
The Blue Team is a group of replacement workers that Republic Services utilizes in times of strike or other disruptions, Manor explained. So while trash may be taking longer to get picked up, Stocktonians can rest assured their refuse will find a way to the landfill.
Trash worker strikes in Stockton are being led by Teamsters Local 439. But San Joaquin County’s largest city isn’t the only one affected.
Like Stockton, city officials in Lathrop said they were expecting refuse pickup delays from Republic Services. But Manteca posted its own social media post Wednesday that said it doesn’t believe the strike will result in any interruptions.
“The city of Manteca operates its solid waste services independently of Republic Services,” it wrote. “We understand concerns are rising across the region, but rest assured: your trash, recycling and organics will be picked up on your regular service day.”
Republic Services said Wednesday that the strike is confined to workers who walked off their jobs this week at Republic’s Forward Landfill in Manteca. Much of the interruption is coming from trash truck drivers who are honoring the picket lines.
Manor said that Stockton is hopeful the strike won’t last more than a week. However, its ultimately up to Republic Services and the Teamsters to settle the issue.
Republic has said it was doing its best to restore its collection schedule.
“We are making adjustments to our operations to ensure our ability to continue providing service during this situation. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause,” the Phoenix-based company wrote in an email to Stocktonia.
Local 439 spokesman Sal Lomeli said Wednesday that there have been no new talks between the union and management and that the strike goes on.
Worker strikes are expanding to more cities across the country, including areas of Southern California, according to a Wednesday press release from Teamsters Local 25, a union group of sanitation workers out of Boston.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Wednesday that Republic Services, who handles garbage pickups across the country, is refusing to settle fair contracts, despite months of negotiations.
An unexpected victim of the strike? Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
“We don’t have picket lines outside of Disneyland, but the Republic Services facility that services Disneyland has picket lines up at it.” said Matt McQuaid, the communications project manager for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. “Unfortunately, they are not getting their trash picked up.”
As of Wednesday, over 2,000 Teamsters are on strike. When asked how long he thinks it will continue, McQuaid said it’s “up to the company,” referring to Republic Services.
