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250 sanitation workers in San Diego go on strike

Republic Services truck
Members of the San Diego area chapters of the Teamsters have gone on strike against Republic Services, one of the largest disposal companies in the country.
(Republic Services )

Negotiations between the Teamsters union and Republic Services on new contract sputter

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More than 250 waste collection workers employed by Republic Services in the San Diego area have gone on strike after bargaining sessions over a new contract bogged down.

The sanitation workers are members of Teamsters Local 542 and collect refuse at various locations across San Diego County. The union members authorized the strike on Wednesday and walked off the job Friday, forming picket lines.

The workers “want to make a stand and show the company what they’re worth,” Jaime Vasquez, Teamsters Local 542 Secretary-Treasurer, said in a statement. “This is serious.”

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In an email to the Union-Tribune, Republic Services said the strike is affecting the company’s Chula Vista, Newton, Armour Street and Clairemont Mesa locations. Eastgate customers have not been impacted so far.

Due to the strike, Republic is “experiencing significant delays in collection service but is working to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” the company said. “We apologize for the inconvenience and are doing everything we can to resolve the temporary situation.”

Republic Services is asking residents and businesses to leave containers out for collection, saying they will be serviced as soon as this weekend.

The news of the work stoppage in San Diego came as more than 450 Republic Services workers in Anaheim and Huntington Beach ended a weeklong strike Friday after they ratified two new collective bargaining agreements with the company.

Based in Phoenix, Republic Services is the second-largest provider of solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services in the country. The Fortune 500 company employs more than 30,000 workers at more than 800 local operations in 41 states.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, based in Washington D.C., represents more than 7,000 Republic Services workers nationwide.

The union is currently in negotiations with Republic Services on new contracts in five California cities — San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, San Jose and Richmond. New pacts are also being discussed in New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Seattle.