The City of Renton reports it will host three temporary garbage collection events to address missed garbage collection for single-family customers of Republic Services. Events will be held at Renton Technical College, 3000 NE 4th St., at the following times:
• Saturday, July 19, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 22, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 23, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
If attending an event, please remember to:
• Bring your garbage in bags. No bulky items or construction waste.
• Bring ID, Republic Services bill, or City of Renton utility bill for proof of residency.
• Arrive 30 minutes before closing to ensure entry.
• Remain in line and in your vehicle unless instructed otherwise by staff in order to assist all residents as safely as possible.
• If the event reaches capacity, the event will close early.
Background info
A Republic Services work stoppage due to a labor dispute elsewhere continued to halt waste collections in several cities. As of this posting, residential and commercial customers did not have garbage and recycling picked up since July 9.
A couple of dozen cities in King and and Snohomish counties contract with Republic Services. According to a Teamsters Local 252 press release out of Lacey, that local went on strike July 9 at a transfer facility to protest unfair labor practices at Republic Services.
More than 2,000 Teamsters at Republic Services are currently on strike or actively honoring picket lines nationwide, according to a July 15 social media post by the Teamsters national office in Washington, D.C.
Striking Teamsters extended picket lines this week to Los Angeles and a major landfill in Ohio.
The strike forced by Republic Services will now impact over two million Los Angeles residents, according to Teamsters. In Youngstown, Ohio, trucks and trains carrying 12 million pounds of trash per day from New York City and New Jersey will be unable to unload at one of the nation’s largest landfills.
“It’s shocking, and increasingly disgusting, how far Republic Services is willing to push its workforce,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “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. 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.”
