No Mass. trash strike deal after negotiations Friday — read the statements

There’s no end in sight to the trash and recycling strike that’s stretched on for weeks in over a dozen Massachusetts towns.

Both Teamsters Local 25 and Republic Services reported being dissatisfied with the negotiations that were held on Friday. The union called it “another wasted bargaining session,” while the waste collection company said the session “ended earlier than we wanted.”

They left without scheduling another bargaining session, both sides said Friday afternoon. Read their full statements below.

Nearly three weeks since Teamsters workers first walked off the job, demanding better pay and labor protections from Republic Services, frustration continued to simmer in the towns where trash and recycling has been collected only sporadically ever since.

An overstuffed dumpster in Danvers actually caught fire on Friday.

Daily Harvest Cafe owner Brittany Raesly said it hasn’t been emptied in a week.

“We had so much trash, we couldn’t fit it. It was piling super high and it was just falling,” she said. “This is my livelihood. If I’m not open, I can’t pay my staff. I can’t pay my bills. It’s just ridiculous.”

Public officials have continued to sound off on the ongoing dispute. High-ranking Rep. Katherine Clark said Friday she’s “proud to stand with the [Teamsters] as they fight for better wages and better benefits.”

Gov. Maura Healey has said this situation is now beyond a headache — it’s a public health concern, and it’s expensive for everyone involved.

Massachusetts communities dealing with a weekslong trash strike are scrambling to find solutions, with a group of mayors and town administrators decrying Republic Services’ service.

Two court hearings involving the strike are slated for Salem Superior Court on Monday.

One was brought by six cities and towns that use Republic Services, calling on the company to remove the “public health risk” that has resulted from their failure to adequately collect and dispose of trash and recycling in their respective communities despite Republic hiring replacement workers.

“The lack of attention and response from the CEO of Republic to our needs and communities is telling us a story about who they are,” exclaimed Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill, who said his city plans to take financial action against Republic Services.

A company spokesman told NBC10 Boston that it was “disappointing that these six communities have taken this route,” calling it a distraction.

Republic will has filed a lawsuit against the Teamsters, accusing the union of violent behavior, including shouting slurs, slashing vehicle tires and possibly stealing a truck. The company is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the union from what it’s calling “illegal acts.”

More than a dozen Massachusetts cities and towns are still scrambling to collect trash and recycling amid the ongoing Republic Services sanitation workers strike.

The union, for its part, is claiming that non-union Republic workers are seeking to join the strike as well.

Read Friday’s statement from Teamsters Local 25:

REPUBLIC TURNS ITS BACK ON MASSACHUSETTS

BOSTON — Following another wasted bargaining session where Republic took a 5-hour caucus and then returned without any increase in its wage proposal and refused to budge from its position not to agree to the more comprehensive Teamsters Health Insurance Plan, Tom Mari, President of Teamsters Local Union No. 25 stated, “This continues Republic’s policy of surface bargaining.  They’re going through the motion with no intent to reach an agreement and that’s why we filed an Unfair Practice Charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.”

“At 10:00am this morning we offered a complete package that would still leave Republic almost $5 behind Capitol in the first year of the contract because we offered to delay the implementation of the Teamsters Health Insurance for one year and would permit employees who aren’t covered by the company’s plan to opt out of ours.  You would think that offer, with the possibility of a 5-year contract, would force the company to give us a significant counter proposal.  Instead, after 5 hours of waiting, the company gave us NOTHING!  They refused to increase their wage offer, refused the Teamster health insurance, still insisted on using cameras in the cabs to discipline drivers, refused to allow drivers to honor picket lines and continued to threaten punishment for employees for picket line activities,” Mari said. 

Local 25’s negotiating committee refused to be intimidated by Republic’s unlawful behavior.  Instead, the committee developed another offer that, if accepted by Republic, would be presented to the membership Friday evening.  Mari said, “I promised the company that we would recommend its acceptance, and the employees would return to work on Saturday, but, once again, Republic refused to negotiate.”  Mari concluded, “Obviously, we have no choice but to continue our strike until Republic comes to its senses.”  Today’s session ended without any agreement on future dates for negotiations.

Teamster members remain on strike at several Republic locations throughout the United States as well as thousands of Teamsters members continue to honor extended picket lines in many states.

Read Friday’s statement from Republic Services:

Teamsters Want to Prolong Strike

Republic Services Committed to Resolution While Teamsters Choose Chaos and Conflict

We are 18 days into the Teamsters-led strike, and a stark contrast has emerged: Republic Services is focused on facts and reaching an agreement that provides our employees with market-leading pay and benefits, while Teamsters leadership is focused on disinformation and disruption.

Negotiations ended earlier than we wanted today, and the meeting revealed the Teamsters’ true priorities – their work stoppage isn’t about our Boston employees’ welfare. It’s about demands that benefit the union and a desire to cause chaos and conflict.

While Republic Services has offered to:

• Pay industry-leading wages
• Maintain our zero-premium healthcare plan with no deductible
• Provide industry-leading retirement contributions

The Teamsters have:

• Rejected strong proposals without allowing members to review or vote
• Demanded the ability to force Boston employees to strike over disputes in other states, which would harm our communities
• Engaged in dangerous and unlawful intimidation tactics
• Vandalized equipment and physically assaulted our employees

Yet, during today’s meeting, Local 25 President Tom Mari claimed that “we are stonewalling them.”  This could not be further from the truth. Our proposal to increase wages 16% immediately, and 43% over the life of the contract is far from “stonewalling.”

The Teamsters’ pattern of criminal behavior — including truck theft, tire slashing, spraying chemicals on drivers and hate speech — demonstrates the union’s preference for chaos over compromise. The Teamsters have the audacity to demand – as one of their top priorities – amnesty for their threats, violence and criminal activity during this work stoppage. We believe everyone – even the Teamsters – should be held accountable for their actions.

Republic Services remains committed to our employees and the communities we serve. We want to welcome our team back to work with the industry-leading pay and benefits they deserve. The Teamsters appear willing to sacrifice employee paychecks and community needs to advance their own agenda rather than supporting the employees they claim to support.

No negotiating sessions are scheduled at this time.

We continue working hard to provide service. Customers seeking service updates can visit www.republicservices.com/BostonUpdates.