Strike to impact trash and recycle pickup in Monterey County - KSBW Monterey

Strike to impact trash and recycle pickup in Monterey County

Waste Management drivers in Monterey County began a two-week strike Monday.

The strike impacts trash and recycling services in Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Pajaro, Castroville, Moss Landing, Prunedale, East Garrison, and Chualar.

According to Monterey County Communications Coordinator Maia Carroll, the strike does not affect residential flood debris collection. A separate team is doing that work.

However, the strike will impact business and commercial debris pickup in Pajaro which is managed by Waste Management.

There will be no dumpster pick-up Monday. The county says they've been told that two drivers and two vehicles will be brought in Tuesday to empty and replace dumpsters in Pajaro.

A union representative for the drivers tells KSBW Action News 8 that they are striking because the company is violating state and federal laws that prohibit Waste Management from threatening termination if an employee goes on strike.

Waste Management provided this statement:

- Employees of USA Waste of California, Inc. dba Carmel Marina Corporation (CMC) went out on strike the morning of March 27, 2023. These employees are represented by LIUNA Local 270 (the "Union"). By letter dated “4:00 AM – March 27, 2023” the Union notified CMC of their intent to go on strike and that they planned to return to work on April 10, 2023.

- CMC’s last wage proposal was made on January 26, 2023. The Union did not counter the proposal, at that meeting or ever since.
- Additional bargaining sessions were scheduled for February 6th, 7th, and 13th, but the Union cancelled all three of these meetings.
- When we finally met on March 13th, the Union still did not make any counter proposal to our January 26th proposal. They also never told us that what they put on the table before our January 26th proposal was their final offer.
- The Company is disappointed that the Union chose to strike before we were able to meet with the Federal Mediator as scheduled.
- Although we are hopeful that an agreement can be reached, considering these events, the Company is currently evaluating all its options to determine how quickly service can resume in whole, or in part, as safely as possible.

CMC urges all customers to ensure their account information is up to date. They may do so by going to www.wm.com/login.

Automated service updates will be regularly sent in English and Spanish to customers, but they may also call customer service at CMC 800.321.8226.

Union workers will picket today outside of the main yard in Castroville and the Marina landfill.