Teamsters Strike Allied, Garbage Not Collected
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The general manager of Republic Services/Allied Waste sought to assure customers Thursday afternoon after workers represented by Teamsters Local 377 went on strike earlier in the day.
The company’s most recent agreement with the union expired Oct. 31, and hourly employees have been working without a contract since then.
"We learned this morning that members of Teamsters Local 377 decided to go on strike,” said Doug Dunn, general manager, Republic Services/Allied Waste. “We are learning more details and want to assure our customers that we are committed to meeting their waste and recycling needs in a timely manner and appreciate their patience as we move forward."
But in the meantime, full garbage cans remain on curbsides in neighborhoods where pickup was scheduled for Wednesday; among them streets in Poland Township. Allied Waster serves some 100,000 residential customers in the Mahoning Valley.
The key sticking point in negotiations concerns retirement The company wants to move its contributions from the retirement plan managed by the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund to a 401(k) plan that would be set up for its hourly workers. Salaried employees have the same plan, Dunn said.
In 2010, officials representing Central States informed Congress that the pension fund would be insolvent within a decade. Its finances were made even more precarious when snack-food giant Hostess announced it would close its plants and lay off 18,000 workers, Dunn said in February. Hostess owed the Central States plan $12 million.
Under the company’s proposal, Republic Services would make a lump-sum payment into the 401(k) plan for each employee. That payment would be based on the employee’s years of service and age. Companies including UPS and Waste Management Services already have withdrawn from the Central States fund
Ralph “Sam” Cook, secretary/treasurer for Local 377, did not respond to phone or email requests for comment.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.