Workers at Republic Services Inc.’s landfill outside of Youngstown, Ohio, went on strike, charging the company with illegally changing working conditions without bargaining.
This story has been updated with a response from Republic.
The workers, members of Teamsters Local 377, went on strike the evening of March 27, according to a news release from the Washington-based union. Sanitation drivers in Youngstown are honoring the picket lines of the striking co-workers at the Phoenix-based Republic’s Carbon Limestone landfill. Also, workers at Republic/Allied Waste operations in Evansville, Ind., and Urbana, Ill., refused to work March 28 in support of the strikers at Republic's landfill.
The Ohio workers also are protesting the company’s “continued refusal to provide pertinent information related to bargaining,” the union said.
Republic said three labor contracts it reached in Michigan earlier in March could provide the solution. The Teamster locals there agreed to switch to a financially stronger pension fund. Republic called the Youngstown strike unlawful.
“The key issue in the negotiations between the Teamsters and Republic Services is Republic's proposal to withdraw Youngstown employees from the nearly insolvent Central States Pension Fund,” said Doug Dunn, general manager for Republic. That was the fund the Michigan worked agreed to abandon.