Trash collection went as usual for some communities Tuesday, but others saw delays in the second day of the
strike against a private hauler serving many Northeast Ohio suburbs.
Republic Services picked up on schedule for most commercial clients throughout the region, a company spokeswoman said. Most residential customers in Lake and Summit counties also saw no service interrupted, said Al Marino, general manager for the company's Cleveland division. He said the company was using supervisors and other nonunion employees on the routes. His area does not include western Cuyahoga suburbs, where several municipalities notified residents Tuesday that pickup would be delayed by a day, and Republic wouldn't collect yard waste or recyclables.
Marino said he expects that those communities will be back on schedule soon.
"I think things are going to improve," he said of trash collection delays. "We have additional people -- supervisors and managers -- coming in from multiple states. There are some arriving as we speak."
Northeast Ohio Teamsters went out on strike Monday, in support of members in Youngstown, who have been on strike against the company for three weeks.
Marino said his area includes eastern Cuyahoga, where the company almost exclusively serves commercial accounts. The territory also encompasses nine communities in Lake, including Eastlake and Willoughby Hills and Summit, including Macedonia.
Republic Services also serves western Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties, but a company spokeswoman would not say which communities it serves in those counties and which were experiencing delays. Residential delays were occurring because priority was being given to schools and hospitals, she said.
Additionally, the company said 150 Teamsters in Ohio and Memphis, Tenn., where union members also are on strike, had crossed picket lines. The company did not give a breakdown by state. The union says 600 are striking in Ohio, but the company says it is about 400. The union said 175 went out on strike Tuesday in Memphis.
Teamsters headquarters in Washington, D.C., rebutted the company's claims.
"Striking workers' lines have varied in length over the past two weeks, and a smaller line is not the same as people crossing lines," said Leigh Strope, the union's assistant director of communications. "The vast majority of members, when asked, have made the decision to honor and support their fellow workers."
Teamsters in Youngstown struck the company March 27, saying it had engaged in unfair labor practices in bargaining a contract for 23 workers at the Carbon Limestone landfill. Republic has accused the union of failing to negotiate in good faith. Charges from both are now pending before the National Labor Relations Board.
On Monday, locals in the Cleveland area and Elyria joined the strike in support of members in Youngstown. Teamsters also struck Republic facilities in Columbus and Massillon., and Teamsters in the Toledo area went out on strike Tuesday.
Contract-related issues are also the basis of strikes in Atlanta; Evansville and Urbana, Illinois; and Pensacola, Fla., the union said.
Marino said contract negotiations with Local 244 in Cleveland and the company have progressed without charges being filed with the NLRB. Both sides are scheduled to meet Thursday, he said. Marino said union members are well-paid, with base entry-level salaries being about $39,000, rising to $66,000 for seasoned employees. The range with overtime is about $45,000 to 75,000, Marino said.
The company said the real issue behind the strike is employees not wanting to replace their financially strapped pension plan, the Central States Pension Fund, with a company sponsored 40lk retirement account or a more solvent union pension plan.
"Until we started bargaining several months ago to exit the Central States Pension Fund, we almost never had a dispute with the Teamsters, much less the ongoing picketing and work stoppage activity," Holly Georgell, Republic's senior director of labor relations, said in a news press release. "This all started in recent weeks to put additional pressure on us now that we have exited from Central States in five locations. "We have repeatedly asked the Teamsters to explain the basis for their strike and picketing activity and the response is vague, unsupported statements about alleged unfair labor practices."
Marino added that management has a 401k.
In an email, the Teamsters said Republic's decisions are motivated by "corporate greed."
"I've negotiated with companies that are prosperous as well as with companies that were in financial trouble and needed to be saved," General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall said in an email. "Republic Services is the worst I've encountered. We've tried repeatedly to be very reasonable and reach fair resolutions with Republic, but the company continually moves the goal post."