Republic Services sanitation workers at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center continue to picket but Republic employees return to work in King and Snohomish counties as union negotiations resume.
Represented by the Teamsters Local 252 union, workers at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center in Lacey began picketing on July 9 to push for a new contract with better wages and benefits and stronger labor protections.
According to Matt McQuaid, a Teamsters spokesperson, Lacey union members were scheduled to meet with Republic Services on July 30, but the meeting occurred Monday, July 21, instead.
“We initially were not scheduled to meet with the company until July 30, but we are now meeting with them today,” he wrote Monday. “Picket line extensions have been taken down for the time being as a gesture of good faith. The primary picket in Lacey remains ongoing, though.”
The picket does not affect garbage pickup in Thurston County, as local trash collection is managed by LeMay and the City of Olympia. However, Republic workers in King and Snohomish county refused to report for work to honor the picket line starting earlier this month.
This move paused regular trash services in Kent, Bellevue, Renton and Edmonds for over a week.
While trash pileups prompted the cities to establish free drop-off sites, Republic announced in a service alert that employees in King and Snohomish counties would return to work on Monday.
In a statement to The Olympian, Republic Services said, “We are in negotiations today regarding a new contract for our nine employees at our Lacey Transfer Station.”
“Teamsters from Boston and other areas ended picketing at our Seattle-area locations and our drivers have returned to work.”
The Lacey demonstration began shortly after Republic sanitation employees went on strike in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia and California at the beginning of the month.
Six Boston area communities are suing Republic over growing concerns that trash pileups have become a public health risk.”
Republic Services also filed a lawsuit against the Boston area Teamsters Local 25 union, seeking an immediate temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prevent the union from alleged unlawful conduct.