Union solidarity with Waste Management strike

Local Teamsters Union members who drive recycling trucks for Waste Management are holding a meeting in Tukwila to vote about whether or not to strike after the union rejected the company’s latest contract offer.

Union drivers who pick up yard waste and garbage will show solidarity with the recycling truck drivers.

Drivers for CleanScapes, which also has contracts in
parts of King and Snohomish county, say they will honor any strike vote by Waste Management out of solidarity with their union.

Drivers from Allied Waste and Waste Connections, Inc. will also strike with the recycling truck drivers.

In essence, if there is a strike at Waste Management, all of the drivers in local Teamsters unions will stop working in support of the strike.

The latest rejected offer was reported to include increases in hourly wages and benefits packages. Waste Management representatives said that the offer included an average raise of over four percent per year.

Both companies, however, are under contract with the city and counties to remove trash, yard waste and recyclables.

“Our contracts with Waste Management and with CleanScapes require them to collect the garbage or the recycling regardless of whether anyone’s on strike or not,” said Mayor Mike McGinn.

Managers from both Waste Management and CleanScapes may bring in drivers from other parts of the country to collect trash and break the strike, or face big city and county fines.

Contract negotiations between management and recycling truck drivers have stretched on for weeks. Recycling workers have called for equal pay, citing a large disparity between pay for trash collectors and recycling collectors.

The meeting will take place at 9 a.m. in Tukwila with a strike vote shortly afterward.

Jillian Raftery contributed to reporting on this story.