Press Releases
Teamsters Expand National Strike Against Republic Services
Millions Impacted as Work Stoppage Extends to Los Angeles and Ohio
Press Contact: Matt McQuaid Phone: (771) 241-0015 Email: MMcQuaid@Teamster.org
(WASHINGTON) – Striking Teamsters at Republic Services this week are dramatically escalating their war against the waste giant by extending picket lines to Los Angeles and a major landfill in Ohio.
The strike forced by Republic Services will now impact over two million Los Angeles residents. In Youngstown, Ohio, trucks and trains carrying 12 million pounds of trash per day from New York City and New Jersey will be unable to unload at one of the nation’s largest landfills.
“It’s shocking, and increasingly disgusting, how far Republic Services is willing to push its workforce. Our members are everyday Americans performing essential services across our communities, but Republic is unwilling to offer workers good wages, decent benefits, or a fair contract,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The American public needs to understand that Republic Services and its overpaid, corrupt executives own this strike. Their greed is forcing trash collectors and waste haulers across the country out into the street. We don’t want this garbage piling up. We want to return to work. But we refuse to be exploited.”
Over 2,000 Republic Teamsters are either on strike or honoring picket lines because of the company’s illegal union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain in good faith. Republic’s strike has resulted in major disruptions to waste collections for millions of Americans nationwide.
“Republic Services must come to its senses and end this strike with a strong offer for our members. If they fail in this simple task, picket line extensions will continue and garbage will accumulate in more states,” said Victor Mineros, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division. “Republic is delaying the inevitable. Management knows there is only one way this fight ends — with a contract for every single Teamster who does the real, gross, unforgiving, and brutally hard work that these executives could never pretend to do.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.