Republic Services’ customers across San Joaquin County are not alone in grappling with the fallout from a massive trash workers strike.
The work stoppage, now in its second week, is confounding residents and business owners on both the East and West coasts. In the last few days, the labor action has spread to Southern California.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the labor union that represents thousands of Republic employees, says the strike has gone nationwide, with 2,000 workers walking off the job.
“We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “Workers are uniting nationwide, and we will get the wages and benefits we’ve earned, come hell or high water.”
In Stockton, the strike is centered around workers at the Forward Landfill in Manteca. Throughout San Joaquin County, trash has not been picked up on scheduled days because other Republic employees are refusing to cross Teamsters picket lines.
Phoenix-based Republic Services said Tuesday that talks with the union have gone nowhere.
“We have been negotiating with the Teamsters since October to reach an agreement that is beneficial to our Forward Landfill employees and our customers,” the company said in an email to Stocktonia. “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a deal during today’s negotiations. No new date is scheduled at this time.”
Stockton is one of many cities ensnared by the strike. Other municipalities across California and the U.S. are also feeling the effects.
- Boston: Rats are feasting on trash spilling out of dumpsters in several Massachusetts towns, Axios Boston reported. And with the summer temperatures and humidity, “it’s starting to stink real bad,” the news agency said.
- Seattle: The strike has bedeviled trash pickups in suburbs like Renton and Bellevue, Washington, although Seattle itself has not been affected, news site The Seattle Medium reported.
- Los Angeles: In Southern California, the strike has spread to parts of Los Angeles County. The work stoppage initially also included enclaves in Orange and San Diego counties, but on Monday, the Teamsters dropped those extensions, the Los Angeles Times reported.
- Fairfield: The San Francisco Bay Area city is considering legal action since it and other Solano County cities have gone without pickup for two weeks, according to NBC Bay Area. “I’m fed up,” Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy said. One man in the city even took matters into his own hands, traveling 2 miles in his motorized wheelchair to toss his trash at the city dump, CBS News reported.
The latest update on the strike from Stockton city official says that trash is being picked up with a two-day delay – not including customers whose garbage was supposed to have been collected last week. According to the updated service schedule, those whose trash barrels would normally go out on Monday can expect a pickup on Wednesday. Tuesday customers should see the trucks roll up on Thursday, and customers with normal pickups on Wednesday should expect service on Friday.
Republic Services is not collecting any recycling or green waste containers, only refuse destined for the landfill.
San Joaquin County issued a statement Wednesday noting that trash pickup delays have reached into some rural areas surrounding Stockton. Lathrop has also been affected. But Manteca officials say service is normal because the city doesn’t rely on Republic Services for its collection.