Dive Summary:
- The strike between Waste Management and recycling truck drivers from Teamsters Local 117 that started on Wednesday continues. The two sides have no formal plans to meet at a bargaining table.
- Over the weekend, WM deployed experienced replacement drivers to begin to collect waste from commercial accounts. A second wave of drivers are being called up and will begin to work on Monday. The company also announced plans to hire additional replacement drivers.
- On Friday, Seattle's Mayor, Mike McGinn, sent a letter to Waste Management warning of significant penalties if service does not resume soon. A separate letter from the Seattle Public Utilities department warned Waste Management that penalties could reach $1.25 million per day.
From the Waste Management Blog:
Thank you to our valued customers for your continued patience. Over the weekend, experienced WM substitute drivers made solid progress on critical stops in all of our cities across the Puget Sound. Our second wave of experienced WM substitute drivers arrived on Saturday and Sunday. They will be deployed on Monday, July 30.
Commercial Customers:
Over the weekend, experienced WM substitute drivers made significant progress servicing critical facilities across Puget Sound. Additional experienced WM substitute drivers have arrived and will focus on commercial collection on Monday. If you are a Monday customer, please set out and/or unlock your containers as you normally would on a service day.
Residential Customers:
If Monday is your collection day, and your city is listed below, your regularly scheduled service will not be provided today. We will collect up to twice your regular amount of missed services on your next regular service day at no additional charge.
