Dive Brief:
- About 450 Republic Services workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the Boston area went on strike Tuesday morning, the union announced.
- The strike affects services in 17 municipalities in the area, The Boston Globe reported. Republic Services said it had prepared for the possibility of a work stoppage in a statement shared with Waste Dive. The company said its area customers may experience a modified service schedule, and that it would communicate any changes to them.
- Local chapters in Illinois, California, Georgia and Indiana held practice pickets in solidarity last week. The Teamsters said the work stoppage could extend to more than 3,500 workers nationwide if the contract dispute is not resolved as other chapters say they are experiencing similar issues with Republic.
Dive Insight:
While this is the first major Teamsters strike at a Republic Services workplace in 2025, the employer and union have been at odds in recent years. Last year, the two sides came to terms on a contract for some of Republic’s organized workers in the Phoenix area after contentious negotiations.
The Massachusetts strike is the latest escalation of a contract dispute between the two sides. Local 25, which represents striking workers in the Boston area, held a practice picket last week.
The Teamsters say they are holding out for improved wages, better benefits and stronger labor protections. The union also said “hundreds” of other Republic Services workers around the country are having similar disputes with the company.
“This fight isn’t just in Boston,” said Victor Mineros, director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division and Teamsters Western Region International Vice President in a statement. “If Republic doesn’t get its act together quickly, we will make an example of this employer for its mistreatment of our members.”
Republic said it would continue negotiating with Teamsters leaders but stated it already offers greater Boston employees “competitive wages, an industry-leading healthcare plan, pension plan and a generous time-off and holiday plan.”
“It is disappointing that the union called a work stoppage rather than continue negotiating in good faith toward a fair and competitive contract that benefits our employees and our customers. A work stoppage does not benefit our employees or the communities we serve,” the statement, which was not attributed to a spokesperson, said.
In a statement Tuesday, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien blamed Republic executives for the strike in Massachusetts.
"If your rubbish is piling up on the Fourth of July, remember who’s responsible for it: the white-collar criminals who run Republic Services,” O’Brien said. “Republic Teamsters didn’t start this fight, but we will finish it. Our members will do whatever it takes to finally get the respect they’re owed.”
O'Brien was president of Local 25 during its last strike against Republic Services in 2019. That action lasted seven weeks and ultimately the two sides did not reach a contract. Teamsters found other union jobs at different employers for the Republic workers it represented in Marshfield, Massachusetts, after the two sides could not agree to terms.
In the years since, Republic has hired new workers and expanded its footprint in the Boston area. It acquired Peabody-based JRM Hauling & Recycling and affiliated company GreenWorks in 2022. The Teamsters negotiated with Republic to unionize JRM's nonunion workforce after the deal closed.
