PEABODY, MASS. (WHDH) – Workers for Republic Services are set to strike for higher wages, improved access to health care coverage, and paid time off.
Trash pickup for over 400,000 people will be affected if both sides cannot come to an agreement. Their current agreement ends Monday at midnight.
7NEWS is told Teamsters Local 25 members authorized a strike in March. Several communities will be affected by a strike, including Beverly, Saugus, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Lynnfield, and Peabody.
A local resident reacted to the news.
“It’s a tough job for those union guys if you ever watch them during the summer,” said Mike Conley, of Wakefield. “Trying to load those trucks. You can’t blame them for trying to get a little more benefits and more money out of it.”
In a statement, Republic Services said, “We respect the rights of our employees to engage in collective bargaining, and we will continue to meet with the union to reach a fair and competitive contract that is beneficial to our employees, our customers and our company. We are hopeful that the union will not call a work stoppage, but if it does, we have a contingency plan in place to continue serving the community.”
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