Dive Brief:

• Workers represented by Teamsters Local 104 at the Republic Services-operated Southwest Regional Landfill in Buckeye, Arizona, unanimously authorized a strike, the union announced Wednesday. The vote comes four months after the group of 20 workers voted to join the union.
• The local is taking a more aggressive approach to negotiations than in years past, drawing on an enhanced strike fund from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and lessons learned from prior negotiations.
• The Teamsters have long accused Republic Services of tactics detrimental to the labor negotiation process. In a statement, Republic Services Director of External Communications Roman Blahoski said: “We are negotiating in good faith to reach a competitive agreement that benefits our employees and ensures the long-term success of our company.”  

Dive Insight:

Tensions between the two sides led to more than 2,000 workers going on strike last summer, which resulted in several new local contracts around the country. While national tensions have eased somewhat since then, the union remains active in negotiating at other Republic Services work sites across the U.S. 

In Milpitas, California, Local 350 recently secured a victory when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Republic Services subsidiary Browning-Ferris Industries of California is partially responsible for labor contracts at the Newby Island Recyclery. That case, which dates back to 2013, sparked national interest due to its implications for joint employers.

Earlier this year, Teamsters Locals 38, 117 and 174 also ratified a five-year master agreement with Republic Services. The contract spans roughly 350 workers centered around Tukwila, Washington, and standardizes wages and benefits across locations. Three months later, Teamsters Local 174 also ratified a contract with Recology covering nearly 400 workers.

The national union has retooled its strategy in recent years in response to a shifting environment for organized labor under the Trump administration. A new fund set up specifically for waste workers can pay $1,000 per week to Teamsters members who go on strike, supplemented by additional funds from the local. Josh Graves, vice president of Teamsters Local 104, said the total strike benefits workers can earn could exceed what they make on the job.

"It almost incentivizes the guys to fight for what they deserve," Graves said.

At the Buckeye Landfill, the two parties are apart on several aspects of a labor contract, including wages, benefits and a seniority clause. Laborers typically earn about $20 per hour, operators typically earn $26 per hour and scale clerks typically earn about $25 per hour, according to Graves. He said Republic's most recent offer included an annual 2% wage increase over a five-year contract. The union is seeking more, though Graves declined to provide a target number.

The local is also hoping to get landfill workers on the Teamsters' Western State Pension Plan, which it tried and failed to secure for two yards that successfully ratified a contract in 2024. And negotiators still haven't come to an agreement on seniority language, which would ensure workers earn the right to choose schedules and roles based on their tenure with the company.

The local has negotiated on behalf of about 260 Republic Services employees across four work sites, including the Buckeye Landfill. It won contracts for two work sites known as the north and east yards in Phoenix in 2024. But negotiations stalled at a third site, known as the south yard, that year. Republic Services attempted to decertify the union when the two sides failed to reach a contract after one year. Teamsters have disputed that move with the NLRB, but Graves said he doesn't expect any decision under the current administration.

Teamsters officials have long accused Republic Services of slow-walking negotiations. Graves said the local's experience with Republic running out the clock at the south yard compelled the union to take a more aggressive approach with the landfill workers. 

"Their MO is to drag it out and try to get out of it," Graves said. "We're not going to wait."

The local on Tuesday also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Republic Services. The charge alleges that Republic did not provide an annual merit-based increase in March like it previously contracted to do with workers at the Buckeye landfill. Graves said the company still should have provided that increase, as wages and benefits remain status quo during labor negotiations, but he believes Republic was retaliating against the workers voting to unionize.

The Buckeye landfill is city-owned, and Graves said the union is attempting to engage with local officials to put additional pressure on Republic. With the NLRB unlikely to intervene any time soon, workers will have to lean on the facility's role in a growing region, Graves said.

"Buckeye is one of the fastest growing cities in the area for new home developments and businesses," he said. "If they don't have anywhere to dump, that's going to have an impact on all those residents and those businesses."

The 305-acre Southwest Regional Landfill opened in 1997. In 2018, Republic Services applied to expand the landfill vertically by 110 feet and laterally by approximately 375 acres. The facility's 2024 average daily waste acceptance was about 3,152 tons, and it has more than 100 years of remaining capacity, according to documents from the Buckeye Pollution Control Corporation.