ALPHARETTA, Ga. — People who live in several Alpharetta neighborhoods in North Fulton County say their trash is piling up due to a union strike at the sanitation company that provides the service.
“I was surprised, but hopefully they can get it rectified soon,” neighbor Brian Gidley told Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
Gidley says his trash was supposed to be collected days ago but is still sitting by the curb.
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“Hopefully they can sort it out soon because it will be a big mess backed up. Rain, flies, you name it,” Gidley said.
On Thursday, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked a picket line outside Republic Services in Cumming. The 32 employees walked off the job early Tuesday, joining thousands of other workers across the country.
“We are on an unfair labor practice strike since 2 a.m. Tuesday. We are out here 24/7, and we will be here for however long it takes for the company to do the right thing,” said Teamsters Local 728 Representative Eric Massaro.
The national union leadership says they are seeking fair wages and other benefits under a new contract agreement.
Republic Services has a sanitation collection contract with the city of Alpharetta. According to the union, it collects trash at more than 20,000 homes and businesses.
“I believe it will impact the garbage (collection) because these guys have an essential job. They’re out here to do an essential job for the community. And if there are impacts, that’s the company’s fault,” Massaro said.
In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, Republic Services said:
“Republic Services is in contract negotiations with the union representing some of our employees in the Cumming area. Unfortunately, the union chose to call a works stoppage rather than focus on negotiating in good faith toward a fair and competitive contract.
“We planned for the possibility of a work stoppage and have taken several steps to continue providing service, including securing Republic Services employees from other locations, prioritizing routes and optimizing routing efficiency.
“Some customers are experiencing service delays due to the work stoppage. We are communicating schedule changes to impacted customers and apologize for the any inconvenience this may cause.
“We respect the rights of our employees to engage in collective bargaining and are ready to continue discussions with the union to reach an agreement that benefits our employees, our customers and our company.”
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