Garbage is reportedly piling up at some apartments and condominiums across San Diego County as a strike by Republic Services sanitation workers entered its sixth day.
The strike by 250 workers represented by Teamsters Local 542 began at four Republic Services facilities across the county on Friday.
Members of the local voted to authorize a strike on Dec. 13 after their contract expired at the end of November.
“We don’t want to be out here going back and forth with the company when we should be out there servicing our customers. They depend on us to pick up their trash, and that’s what we want to do. But we can’t do that if we don’t have a contract — a fair contract,” said Laderer Hampton, a driver at Republic Services.
Chuck Stiles, director of the Teamsters’ solid waste and recycling division, said the company gave the union “no choice but to go on strike.”
“We ask that the company respect workers’ rights, make sure they are safe during the pandemic and are operating safe equipment, and pay them a fair return on their work,” he said.
Chula Vista City Councilmember Steve Padilla, whose city is affected by the strike, called on the company to negotiate with striking workers.
“When Republic Services contracted with the City of Chula Vista to run our waste management, they accepted the obligation of maintaining labor peace and fair labor practices,” said Padilla. “Now that their employees — many of whom have worked at the company for decades — have enacted their first ever strike, I implore Republic Services to act decisively to meet the needs of their workers and of Chula Vista residents.
Republic Services is the second-largest trash collection, disposal and landfill corporation in the United States with facilities in over 40 states.
Workers in Anaheim and Huntington Beach ended a seven-day strike earlier this month after ratifying a new agreement.
Updated at 5:50 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021
