Although the contract between Republic Services and a group of its Atlanta-based workers expired at midnight Monday, those employees have continued working as negotiators try to hammer out a new contract.
According to an official at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents the 180 workers, talks continued Tuesday.
The most contentious issues have been wages, health care payments and time off. Workers have kept doing their jobs under the terms agreed to as part of the 5-year contract that just expired, according to Chuck Stiles, director of the union’s solid waste and recycling division.
Workers, including dispatchers, helpers and mechanics, last month voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if negotiations do not produce a new contract. They are represented by Teamsters Local 728.
A statement from the Phoenix-based company confirmed that the union and company have agreed to keep talking, despite the expiration of the past agreement.
“We look forward to reaching a fair and competitive contract that is beneficial for our employees, our customers and our company,” the company statement said.
Republic is the nation’s second-largest waste-management company. The firm has more than 30,000 workers around the country, many of them also represented by Teamsters.
Republic also has many workers around Georgia, some represented by the Teamsters under different contracts.
During the past decade, Atlanta-area union workers have walked out on Republic twice, in 2013 and 2018, both times because of what the union said were company violations of federal labor laws.
If they strike this time, the action could disrupt trash pick-up and hauling from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, several hospitals and gas station chains.
Teamsters have seen both good bad news in recent days.
The extended negotiations with Republic follow the deal reached two weeks ago between Sandy Springs-based UPS and about 340,000 Teamster-represented workers, a pact reportedly giving workers much of what they had asked for.
On Monday, financially troubled Yellow trucking abruptly shut down, taking with it 22,000 union jobs, including about 850 in metro Atlanta.
The Teamsters said they were worried about pay and conditions at Yellow, as well as the pension funds that were due their members. The Teamsters in preceding weeks had agreed not to strike to take some pressure off the company, but Yellow was apparently past saving.
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