After a nine-day strike that began on April 12, members of Teamsters Local 667 have agreed to a new contract with their employer at Republic Services. The two sides had been in contract negotiations, but Local 667 broke them off in favor of a strike after feeling the waste management service was not taking them particularly seriously.
It's not hard to infer the immediate causes of the strike: a lack of safety and lack of pay. Pay at the Memphis landfill has for a long time been several dollars lower than pay at other Republic Services landfills in the region. On the safety front, there was a more recent catalyst. Just last month, a Republic Services employee was hit and killed by a truck at a Memphis landfill owned by the company. One day after the death, Republic Services allegedly asked its sanitation workers to give up their safety bonuses in exchange for a raise, a fairly absurd ask. (And in on-the-nose moment, a striking driver on a picket line was hit by a company garbage truck last Friday.)
Despite its suddenness with respect to contract negotiations, that strike was a very good choice! The new contract–ratified unanimously yesterday (42-0)–has pay raises from around $25/hr to $33/hr; another sick day, bringing the total for workers up to 8; a training bonus of $100, up from $75; and workers have retained all their safety bonuses, despite Republic Services allegedly wanting those to be removed. Congratulations to Local 667 on their successful strike!
