Teamsters Call Out Republic for Dirty Tricks and Unfair Labor Practices

(CALHOUN, Ga.) – Following an intense union-busting campaign, workers at Republic Services in Calhoun, Ga., have triumphed and voted to join Teamsters Local 728. The 42 commercial and residential drivers seek higher wages, health care benefits, improved safety, better working conditions, and respect.

“I’ve worked at Republic for six years. I voted to become a Teamster because I want a voice to better my career,” said Michael Shipley, a roll-off driver and organizing committee member. “I am ready to fight for a fair contract to improve our workplace and give us the respect we deserve.”

The union-busting tactics employed by Republic Services reached a new, possibly illegal, low when the company unit observer threatened to slash workers’ tires, fill their gas tanks with sugar, and held up an organizing committee flier to announce that everyone featured has “a target on their backs.”

“I have never seen a company willingly allow their unit observer to threaten workers with bodily harm and damage to their property,” said Chuck Stiles, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division. “If a union supporter acted as Republic’s unit observer did on election day, they would have been terminated on the spot. We will be considering the appropriate course of legal action.”

The tactics employed by Republic Services are just another example of the company’s indifference to the law. Since 2022, Republic has faced approximately $9 million in expenses for outstanding legal proceedings due to lawsuits for, among other things, faulty or unsafe trucks, illegal air and water pollution, sexual harassment and workplace discrimination, and violations of contracts.

Teamsters Local 728 represents over 12,000 workers in a wide variety of industries throughout the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. For more information, go to teamsterslocal728.org.

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