Republic Services sanitation strike stretches, garbage grows into ‘public health issue’

Thursday marks day in the Republic Services sanitation workers strike While trash has started to be collected in several affected residential communities that hasn t appeared to be the incident for local businesses Since the start of the strike trash has continued to pile up outside businesses overflowing from dumpsters as negotiations between the two sides stall On Wednesday Boston City Councilors unanimously passed a resolution supporting the workers in their strike saying it is becoming a community physical condition dilemma Their work directly impacts populace robustness and quality of this isn t just a labor issue it s a area issue reported councilor Erin Murphy Every time I was out there with them and we saw the trucks that have been holding tons and tons of trash it tied directly into the rat issue we re talking about now It s a constituents medical issue to all of our residents in the city of Boston At the heart of the strike workers are calling for increased wages better benefits and paid time off They say they don t want Republic Services to pay more than others but to meet the standards set by other companies in the area In a Wednesday message regarding negotiations Teamsters Local explained Republic Services was notified on Thursday July if they did not begin negotiations by Monday July we were prepared to extend picket lines across the country Local has not been contacted by Republic since then Republic Services responded Wednesday night saying in part We stand ready to meet at any time with the Teamsters when they are ready to re-engage We will continue to focus on providing facility and doing right by our employees We call on Teamsters leadership to directly stop the instigation intimidation and criminal acts and resolve this situation The strike is impacting more than people and businesses across more than communities