News Updates

Thanks to the perseverance of leaders from Local 164 in Jackson, Michigan, Allied Waste has paid a former local member about $78,000 in back pay, pension and health and welfare contributions for wrongfully firing the worker.

“It feels great to win this case—there’s no more wondering what’s going to happen,” said Keith Miller, who worked at Allied Waste for 18 years before the company fired him on April 5, 2005. “Local 164 did a real good job. I was glad they believed in me.”

When Miller was fired, Local 164 took the case to arbitration and won. The company had alleged that Miller improperly drove his truck while picking up garbage. Miller was a swing driver, filling in for his coworkers who were ill or on vacation.

Allied Waste went to federal court to have the arbitration overturned. The federal court ruled that the arbitrator was wrong and sided with the company. Local 164 didn’t give up. The local took the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and won.

“The Sixth Circuit ruling occurred in February 2008 and since that time Local 164 has been in negotiations with the company to provide Miller with the justice he deserves,” said William Bernard Sr., Local 164 Secretary-Treasurer and principal officer. “We will never back down when a company mistreats or wrongfully fires one of our members, even if it takes years to resolve a case.”

On January 9, 2009, after nearly four years, the grievance was settled and Miller received the $78,000 in back pay and benefits.

Bernard, Sr. was Miller’s Business Agent until he became ill and turned the case over to his son, William Bernard, Jr., Vice-President and Business Agent. Bernard Jr. took up the fight for Miller.

“Keith was a member for 18 years and we never lost faith that we would win the case for Keith,” Bernard Sr. said.

“I applaud Local 164 for its leadership and excellent representation in this case,” said Bob Morales, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste, Recycling and Related Industries Division. “William Bernard Sr. and William Bernard Jr. never gave up and stuck with the case and justice has prevailed.”

Local 120 in Minneapolis has won a card-check/neutrality agreement—that far exceeds typical card-check agreements—with a 13-company consortium of waste-hauling companies which will make it easier for waste workers to become Teamsters.

The “labor-peace” agreement took effect December 1, 2008 between Local 120 and the consortium, known as Minneapolis Refuse, Inc. (MRI). Leaders of Local 120 and other labor leaders in the Minneapolis area laid the groundwork for the agreement two years ago by fighting for passage of a labor peace ordinance in Minneapolis.

“We worked with labor leaders throughout the city for the past two years to make the agreement with MRI possible,” said Brad Slawson, Jr., Local 120 President. “Now, we are working on plans to organize the 13 MRI companies, and we are getting the support of the International Union’s Organizing Department. Soon, waste workers in the Twin Cities area will have a strong voice on the job as Teamsters.”

Each of the MRI members has signed labor peace agreements with Local 120. The agreement is exceptional for many reasons. The employers will allow Local 120 organizers access to its facilities, where three meetings of up to 30 minutes will be held while employees are on the clock. At the meetings, the facility manager will distribute a memo outlining that the employer will remain neutral, and the facility manager will introduce the union organizers.

The agreement also provides the organizers with access to the facility parking lots after the shifts are over. Also, the employers will provide the union with a current list of names, addresses and phone numbers of all unit employees and will update the list and keep it current during the organizing campaigns. The list will include temporary employees and will designate which employees are temporary and which are not.

The agreement also contains extensive enforcement language to make sure the employers abide by the agreement.

The employers agree to recognize Local 120 as the employees’ bargaining agent if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards.

“This agreement far exceeds the typical card check-neutrality agreement—it is a milestone in our organizing efforts,” Slawson said. “I want to recognize the incredible support from the International Union’s Solid Waste Division and the Strategic Campaigns and Research Department.”

Local 120 leaders were busy the past several years to make the agreement possible. For example, Local 120 founded its own political action committee, 120PAC, to build relationships with the mayor and City Council members. 120PAC made organizing sanitation workers a political priority.Also, Local 120 leaders lobbied the mayor and City Council members accompanied by Bill McCarthy, President of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation AFL-CIO, and two sanitation workers who were involved in previous campaigns at Waste Management and Allied.  The workers shared the concerns that drove them to seek union representation and their experiences with union busters while attempting to organize.

Slawson is the chairman of Change to Win Minnesota. In that position, he used the Change to Win’s politics and organizing model to win the agreement.

Meanwhile, it turned out that several companies wouldn’t agree to the city’s labor peace requirement, and it cost them dearly. Aspen Waste lost a chance to take over 40 percent of the routes out for bid because the company wouldn’t agree to the labor peace requirement.

Also, Waste Management and Allied withdrew from MRI rather than comply with the labor peace requirement.

“We effectively drove Allied and Waste Management out of the market, two of the worst union-busting waste-hauling companies,” Slawson said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is requiring Republic Services Inc. and Allied  Waste Industries Inc. to sell trash-hauling routes and landfills in 15 metropolitan areas as a condition of their merger, but the Teamsters Union remains concerned.

The Justice Department announced last week that it had reached a settlement agreement with the companies requiring them to sell 87 trash routes, nine landfills and 10 transfer stations in 12 states.

The settlement was announced the same day the department and seven state attorneys general sued to block the merger on anti-competitive grounds. The settlement would end the suit.

The Teamster Union remains concerned about the integration of the two waste giants.  

“Despite multiple outreach attempts by the Teamsters, we have yet to see a real commitment from Republic Services to sit down with us and discuss the future of labor relations at the newly combined company at a national level. How can you successfully merge two major logistic enterprises if you don’t talk to one of your key constituencies?” said Bob Morales, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste, Recycling and Related Industries Division.

The companies said they expected to start with the integration on December 5. However, the regulatory approval of the merger will not be completed until the public had a chance to comment on the settlement, which a court will consider before final sign off. 

“We are concerned that companies that disrespect their workers may also disregard the consumers and the environment. We will continue to work closely with municipalities, consumer advocates, the incoming Department of Justice, State Attorneys General and other elected officials to protect the interests of our members and our communities,” Morales said.

The Teamsters Union is the largest union for workers in the private waste and recycling industry, representing about 9,000 workers at Republic Services and Allied Waste. 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Republic and Allied must divest waste collection and/or disposal assets to a Department of Justice approved buyer or buyers as follows:

• Atlanta –collection routes and transfer station assets;
• Cape Girardeau, Mo.–collection routes and transfer station assets;
• Charlotte, N.C.–collection routes, transfer station assets, and landfill assets;
• Cleveland– transfer station assets and landfill assets;
• Denver–landfill assets;
• Flint, Mich.–landfill assets;
• Fort Worth, Texas–collection routes and landfill assets;
• Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.–collection routes, transfer station assets, and landfill assets;
• Houston–collection routes, transfer station assets, landfill assets, and access to landfill disposal capacity;
• Lexington, Ky.–collection routes;
• Los Angeles–landfill assets;
• Lubbock, Texas–collection routes;
• Northwest Indiana–collection routes, transfer station assets, and access to landfill disposal capacity;
• Philadelphia–transfer station assets and access to landfill disposal capacity; and
• San Francisco–landfill assets.

Under the proposed settlement, Republic would have to notify the Department and the relevant state before acquiring any waste collection and/or disposal operations in these areas for the next 10 years, the duration of the settlement.

Local unions should call the Solid Waste/Recycling Division at (202) 508-6422 to report any news on how the merger integration is proceeding in their area, or if they have any questions.

The U.S. Department of Justice is requiring Republic Services Inc. and Allied  Waste Industries Inc. to sell trash-hauling routes and landfills in 15 metropolitan areas as a condition of their merger, but the Teamsters Union remains concerned.

The Justice Department announced last week that it had reached a settlement agreement with the companies requiring them to sell 87 trash routes, nine landfills and 10 transfer stations in 12 states.

The settlement was announced the same day the department and seven state attorneys general sued to block the merger on anti-competitive grounds. The settlement would end the suit.

The Teamster Union remains concerned about the integration of the two waste giants.  

“Despite multiple outreach attempts by the Teamsters, we have yet to see a real commitment from Republic Services to sit down with us and discuss the future of labor relations at the newly combined company at a national level. How can you successfully merge two major logistic enterprises if you don’t talk to one of your key constituencies?” said Bob Morales, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste, Recycling and Related Industries Division.

The companies said they expected to start with the integration on December 5. However, the regulatory approval of the merger will not be completed until the public had a chance to comment on the settlement, which a court will consider before final sign off. 

“We are concerned that companies that disrespect their workers may also disregard the consumers and the environment. We will continue to work closely with municipalities, consumer advocates, the incoming Department of Justice, State Attorneys General and other elected officials to protect the interests of our members and our communities,” Morales said.

The Teamsters Union is the largest union for workers in the private waste and recycling industry, representing about 9,000 workers at Republic Services and Allied Waste. 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Republic and Allied must divest waste collection and/or disposal assets to a Department of Justice approved buyer or buyers as follows:

• Atlanta –collection routes and transfer station assets;
• Cape Girardeau, Mo.–collection routes and transfer station assets;
• Charlotte, N.C.–collection routes, transfer station assets, and landfill assets;
• Cleveland– transfer station assets and landfill assets;
• Denver–landfill assets;
• Flint, Mich.–landfill assets;
• Fort Worth, Texas–collection routes and landfill assets;
• Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.–collection routes, transfer station assets, and landfill assets;
• Houston–collection routes, transfer station assets, landfill assets, and access to landfill disposal capacity;
• Lexington, Ky.–collection routes;
• Los Angeles–landfill assets;
• Lubbock, Texas–collection routes;
• Northwest Indiana–collection routes, transfer station assets, and access to landfill disposal capacity;
• Philadelphia–transfer station assets and access to landfill disposal capacity; and
• San Francisco–landfill assets.

Under the proposed settlement, Republic would have to notify the Department and the relevant state before acquiring any waste collection and/or disposal operations in these areas for the next 10 years, the duration of the settlement.

Local unions should call the Solid Waste/Recycling Division at (202) 508-6422 to report any news on how the merger integration is proceeding in their area, or if they have any questions.