Republic Services and Teamsters Local 728 in Cumming, Georgia, reached an agreement on a new contract, the union announced Wednesday.
The agreement is the last of five associated with a multistate strike the International Brotherhood of Teamsters launched this summer. The employees’ return to work Thursday brings an end to the labor conflict.
The contract covers 32 union members in the area whose previous contract expired on April 1. It includes an immediate 7% wage increase and a further 3% increase on April 1, 2026, according to Chuck Stiles, assistant director of Teamsters’ waste and recycling division. The local also secured two weeks of guaranteed pay for parental leave and time-and-a-half pay for working on holidays, among other changes.
In a statement from an unattributed spokesperson on Wednesday, Republic Services said the contract “benefits our employees, our customers and our company. We look forward to welcoming back our union-represented employees tomorrow.”
Local 728 in Georgia went on strike on July 8 over what they alleged were Republic's unfair labor practices. That occurred one week after Local 25 in the Boston area went on strike, which kicked off a wave of walkouts in markets around the country, including California, Washington and Illinois. Roughly 2,000 Teamsters working for Republic Services were on strike at the peak of the dispute. That number dwindled as locals began agreeing to new contracts with Republic.
Local 25 voted to approve a new, five-year contract with Republic on Sept. 19, allowing roughly 450 employees to return to work.
The labor issues have caught the attention of market analysts in recent months, as Republic has disclosed this year’s strikes would cost the company up to $50 million. In an investor note, Stifel's analysts highlighted Republic's industry-high 22% unionization rate and warned that they "expect to see periodic impacts from labor union strikes."
Teamsters officials have painted Republic as the most difficult company to negotiate with among its waste industry peers. They allege the company intentionally slow-walked negotiations to achieve more favorable terms.
In a statement, Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said the union successfully fought back.
"Every waste worker in America is now stronger because of Republic Teamsters’ courage, conviction, and willingness to take on this fight,” O'Brien said.
