Healey tells Republic Services ongoing trash strike is 'unacceptable'

Seven weeks into a mid-summer trash collection strike affecting 14 Massachusetts communities, Gov. Maura Healey on Monday pressed the top executive at Republic Services to help end the labor dispute.

"Your company’s failure to resolve or even meaningfully address this prolonged strike is unacceptable," Healey wrote in a letter to Republic Services President and CEO Jon Vander Ark.

"For seven weeks now, trash and recycling have been piling up in neighborhoods during the heat of summer, impacting public health and quality of life for thousands of Massachusetts residents," she wrote. "Communities across the state are being forced to bear the consequences and costs of stalled negotiations between your company and its workforce."

The strike began July 1, with Teamsters Local 25 members demanding higher pay and improved benefits. The vote to strike was caused by "Republic‘s refusal to agree to pay the same wages and benefits that have been negotiated by Local 25 at Capitol Waste and Star Waste Systems," the company's competitors in eastern Massachusetts, according to the Teamsters. Trash and recycling collections have been halted in more than a dozen North Shore and Boston-area cities and towns. The last bargaining session was July 18.

Healey on July 17 also called on Republic Services to reach a deal to end the strike, saying at the time that the situation "has gone beyond a headache for residents, businesses and municipalities."

On Sunday, the union voted to continue the strike.

In a statement responding to questions about Healey's letter, Republic said, "Any delays in service lie squarely at the feet of Teamsters Local 25."

"We remain ready to meet with Local 25 leadership when they are serious about reaching an agreement," the company said. "We offered an immediate 16% wage increase, a 43% increase over five years and continued zero-premium healthcare. The total compensation we offered (hourly wage + hourly retirement contribution) far surpasses our local competitors, and if the Teamsters had accepted this offer, our drivers would make approximately $140,000 per year by the end of the contract."

The union said it agrees with Healey’s letter and "applaud[s] her work to hold this company accountable."

Asked about Republic's offer, a Teamsters spokesperson said, "It’s disgraceful that Republic is blaming its own workers — the very people who made it a multibillion dollar company — for their strike going on this long. This is exactly the behavior we’d expect from rich out-of-state corporate executives who couldn’t care less about the Massachusetts residents they are denying service to."

Healey specifically addresses Vander Ark in the letter, saying "my attempts to speak with you directly have gone unanswered."

"The fact that you haven't returned my calls is a reflection of your unacceptable approach to this urgent matter. The time for delay and posturing is over. It is time to resolve this — now," she wrote, calling for Republic to return to the bargaining table "immediately."

Republic said it had been in contact with Healey's office during the strike.

In response to her letter, the company said, "we are working to schedule a call with the Governor to provide an update on negotiations and our operations."