Teamster Trash Haulers Go On Strike In Seattle

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13371

Submitted by Doug Cunningham on April 21, 2010 - 2:24pm
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At 10:30 a.m. yesterday trash haulers in Washington’s King and Snohomish counties walked off the job. Jesse Russell has more.

Nearly 18,000 Seattle residents went without garbage pick up on Wednesday. Waste Management has a contract that covers nearly half the city. The strike comes as the company and the Teamsters Union, which represents the workers, failed to reach a contract agreement. The Teamsters had waited for three weeks for the company to schedule new negotiations, failing that they moved forward with putting up picket lines. The union has accused the company of violating federal labor laws, charges include worker retaliation, changing working conditions, and bargaining in bad faith among others. The previous contract expired on April 1. The union is seeking medical benefits that are equal to those offered by two other contractors that operate in the region, CleanScapes and Allied Waste. Nearly 400 workers are on strike.