By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — There is no end in sight to the ongoing strike between the town’s trash collection provider Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25.
Teamsters Local 25 voted to go on strike on June 30, and the strike officially began on July 1. The strike has been impacting municipalities across the North Shore and Greater Boston.
“I don’t think this strike is going to get settled soon,” said Town Administrator Rob Dolan in an interview with the Villager. “Republic is a $16 billion dollar national company and the Teamsters are one of the largest unions in the country. I have talked to representatives on both sides, and both sides are far apart in negotiations.”
Dolan said during a July 3 “Town Talk” episode that, “This trash strike between Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25 is currently fierce with no end in sight.”
“This is affecting big communities like Boston, Watertown, Malden, Peabody, Danvers and Gloucester just to name a few and is also affecting smaller communities like North Reading, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Wakefield and Ipswich,” said Dolan.
Republic Services wrote in a statement that was posted on the town’s Facebook page that the company “planned for the possibility of a work stoppage.” The trash collection company also stated that it would be “mobilizing Republic Services relief drivers to cover routes moving forward.”
“Republic Services has negotiated in good faith to provide our employees with a fair and competitive compensation and benefits package,” Republic Services stated. “It is truly unfortunate that our latest offer was voted down. At this time, we are unable to predict the duration of the labor strike. We are committed to working with the union to reach an agreement. We will keep you apprised of the situation.”
Teamsters Local 25 disagreed with Republic Services’ assessment of the strike.
“Four hundred and fifty Republic Services workers represented by Teamsters Local 25 were forced on strike by the waste giant, inevitably disrupting waste collections for hundreds of thousands of residents throughout the Boston area,” Teamsters Local 25 wrote in a statement that was posted on the town’s Facebook page. “Primary picket lines could extend nationwide and result in a work stoppage for over 3,500 Teamsters. Republic Teamsters are demanding a contract with improved wages, better benefits and stronger labor protections. The multibillion dollar waste corporation has refused to give workers a fair deal, pushing them to the picket line.”
Dolan and the municipal leaders of Gloucester, Danvers, Beverly, Canton, Ipswich, Malden, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Peabody, Swampscott, Wakefield and Watertown urged Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25 to settle the strike in a letter sent to the trash company’s leadership team.
“While we fully respect the collective bargaining process, we strongly urge all parties to return to the negotiating table in good faith to reach a fair and timely resolution,” the municipal leaders wrote in the letter. “As the impasse continues, the impacts on our residents, businesses, and municipal operations will undoubtedly become increasingly difficult to manage.”
Dolan said during the “Town Talk” episode that the town has been doing “everything in our power to make up for this massive gap in service.”
“Over the last few months, we have been in contact with Republic to talk about contingency plans, and Republic did provide us with a contingency plan,” said Dolan. “We were also preparing ourselves, but when this strike happened, it became immediate and very clear to us that Republic was unable to meet their contingency plans and that there would be an aggressive posture by Teamsters Local 25 blocking service. Republic has failed in their mission of providing a secondary service in the result of a strike.”
As a result of the strike, Department of Public Works (DPW) Director John Scenna said in an interview with the Villager that the town is renting three smaller trash trucks from Republic Services that are staffed with replacement workers that the company hired.
“The biggest challenge has been the department being forced to pivot several times since the announcement of the strike due to the failure of Republic’s communication and contingency plans,” said Scenna. “We have been advised several times going into this that there were contingency plans in place in the event of a strike. We have found that is not the case. Things are consistently changing, and some things are in their control and some are not.”
Scenna said protesters have been blocking Republic Services’ stations where the trash trucks are located, which has further delayed trash collection efforts in town.
“We also have drivers who are inexperienced and don’t know the neighborhoods,” added Scenna. “They don’t do this day in and day out.”
Scenna said Republic Services’ contingency plans in the event a strike occurred did not take into consideration collecting curbside recycling. He said DPW employees and school custodians have agreed to “take over the curb-to-curb collection of recycling.”
Dolan thanked school custodians and DPW employees in the “Town Talk” episode for making “the choice to help out in a great time of need.”
“This is not something that they normally do,” said Dolan. “They have put their jobs aside and have agreed to help the citizens of Lynnfield in dealing with this statewide crisis. I personally want to thank them.”
As a result of the ongoing strike, crews were forced to complete July 1’s trash and recycling routes and began the July 2 routes on Thursday, July 3. Republic Services’ replacement workers collected only trash on the Fourth of July.
Republic and DPW crews continued collecting trash and recycling that was supposed to occur on July 2 and July 3 on Saturday, July 5. Crews collected the Fourth of July’s trash and recycling on Monday, July 7.
“We ask residents to put your items curbside prior to 7 a.m. on the morning of your scheduled collection and leave them out,” said Dolan. “Routes may be completed differently, and by different workers, but we are committed to collecting. Please put all trash in containers with secure lids.”
Republic Services has been collecting only trash this week with a one-day delay that started on Tuesday, July 8. Curbside recycling is collected bi-weekly.
Dolan informed the Villager that the DPW has set up two large dumpsters in the yard facility behind Town Hall that is being overseen by DPW employees. The facility will be open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“Residents will be allowed to bring residential trash, commingled recycling and the regular yard waste and cardboard items with a sticker or a license,” said Dolan.
Scenna said DPW employees are running the drop-off center.
“We are a small department, and we have had to delay other priorities to get the recycling off the street and running the drop-off center because Republic couldn’t staff it,” said Scenna. “It has put a lot of strain on the department.”
Dolan said in an interview with the Villager that the town will be looking to recoup the funds that have been spent as a result of the ongoing trash strike between Republic Services and Teamsters Local 25.
“We are going to aggressively use our contract with Republic to not only get the money back that we have already spent, but certainly exercise whatever rights we have in the contract to penalize Republic for their lack of having a contingency plan and for the strain that this has put on our operations,” said Dolan. “We are already in contact with our lawyers to do that.”
While Dolan said, “Republic’s contingency plans have failed,” he said DPW employees “are doing the best they can.”
“This is not the type of work that they do,” said Dolan. “This is incredibly grueling labor in 90-degree heat. They have been the unsung heroes in this situation.”
Dolan also thanked residents for their “patience” and “cooperation” with waiting for their trash and recycling to be collected.
“This is a very difficult time, but your town is doing everything in its power to make this as smooth as possible for you and all of the citizens of Lynnfield,” said Dolan during the “Town Talk” episode.
Scenna agreed.
“There have been a lot of challenges over the last week, but we have had the mindset that we need to maintain a level of service our residents are accustomed to,” said Scenna. “I know people have been frustrated about trash collection getting delayed, but the truth of the matter is we are finding stuff out at 6 a.m. sometimes and we are consistently forced to change plans. Some communities have waived the white flag and are not doing anything until this strike is settled.”
Scenna recalled that Republic Services purchased the town’s former trash and recycling provider, JRM Hauling and Recycling, three years ago. He said Republic Services was advocating for a contract extension this winter.
“Republic campaigned for a contract extension,” said Scenna. “Rob, I and the Select Board decided against an extension of their contract, and we wanted to continue to evaluate the model we had and we wanted to continue to evaluate Republic’s performance. We have two more years of their contract at a favorable rate. Given what has happened, I feel confident that was the right decision.”