After a three-day walkout, Republic Services sanitation workers were back on the job in east Whittier Thursday, hours after the Whittier City Council declared a public health emergency when trash pickup was delayed in the eastern portion of the city.
Republic Services, one of two Whittier contract waste haulers, is embroiled in an ongoing labor dispute with the Teamsters Union in Boston. About 2,000 Teamsters are either on strike or honoring picket lines where there are no contract disputes. In California, affected cities include Anaheim, Santa Ana, Inglewood, Compton and Santa Fe Springs.
The company said that its Los Angeles-area employees returned to work Thursday, and regular service has resumed. “We have brought in additional support to help with the recovery effort,” an official said via email. In Whittier, normal operations and schedules are expected to resume Monday, July 21 with cleanup and catch-up work completed by this Saturday, July 19.
Los Angeles-area Republic employees were on strike for three days.
At an emergency meeting called late Wednesday, Councilmember Fernando Dutra moved and Councilmember Cathy Warner seconded a motion to declare the public health emergency, which would allow the city to quickly respond to health and safety threats. According to Margo Diamond-Nelson, Whittier community engagement manager, the move enables emergency measures, such as temporary fee waivers coordination of alternative services and expedited access to resources.
In this case, tipping fees were waived for Whittier residents who are Republic customers at Savage Canyon Landfill in the city. The council also authorized staff to take measures to ensure solid waste services resumed no later than Saturday, July 19. The terms of the city’s agreement with Republic allows for up to five days to resolve a service disruption.
Warner said she walked out her front door Wednesday and could smell the trash. She worked with city staff on options, citing public health and safety concerns. Mayor Joe Vinatieri called the emergency meeting on the grounds of potential litigation, since “we knew if we called in another company before the five days that would be cause for potential litigation,” Warner said.
“Trash pickup, clean water, 911 response, paved roads and sidewalks, green parks — these are the basic services that are under the control of the city of Whittier and the fundamental responsibility of the Whittier City Council,” Vinatieri said.
Republic, the second largest provider of waste disposal in the country, after Waste Management, sent a message to residential customers and businesses in California early this week saying the labor stoppage is “beyond our control,” and that it is working to resolve the situation, which began July 1 in Boston, when about 450 workers walked off the job.
This week, striking Teamsters extended picket lines to Los Angeles, impacting 2 million Los Angeles residents, according to the union.
“Our members are everyday Americans performing essential services across our communities, but Republic is unwilling to offer workers good wages, decent benefits, or a fair contract,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The American public needs to understand that Republic Services and its overpaid, corrupt executives own this strike. Their greed is forcing trash collectors and waste haulers across the country out into the street. We don’t want this garbage piling up. We want to return to work. But we refuse to be exploited.”
In Rosemead, where service disruptions began Monday, July 14, customers of Republic Services are being told they can drop off bagged waste at a Los Angeles facility.
Republic Services is based in Arizona and has about 42,000 employees. It made $2 billion in profits last year, according to Forbes magazine.
Negotiations between the union and trash company resume Friday, July 18.
The schedule for solid waste recovery in Whittier includes:
Thursday, July 17
Commercial: All routes runningResidential: Monday and partial Tuesday routes
Friday, July 18
Commercial: All routes runningResidential: Remainder of Tuesday routes and as much of Wednesday as possible
Saturday, July 19
Commercial: All routesResidential: Remaining Wednesday routes (if needed), plus full Thursday and Friday routes
