Republic Employees Crossing Picket Lines in Ohio and Memphis

INDIANAPOLIS, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Breaking with union leadership, more than 150 Republic Services Teamsters have already crossed picket lines to report to work in Ohio and Memphis. The number of Republic employees coming back to work is growing by the hour.

Holly Georgell, senior director of Labor Relations for Republic Services, said, "We welcome and support our returning employees. And, we are proud to honor their commitment to their families, as well as our customers and communities, by providing them with outstanding pay and benefits."

Teamster leadership has not announced any specific reason why picket lines have been established, and have rebuffed Republic's efforts to find out why employees are being asked to miss pay. The lack of straight talk seems to be fueling members' decisions to come to work.

Added Georgell, "What we are hearing is that our employees have no idea why they are being forced to sacrifice their hard earned pay to support the Teamsters' actions."

Employees are also returning to work because they do not support the Teamsters' goal to keep approximately 500 Republic Services employees in the failing Central States Pension Fund.  Georgell said, "The real reason for these pickets is to harass Republic into staying in the dying Central States Pension Fund.  At the same time, both the Wall Street Journal and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) have reported that the Central States Pension Fund is asking Congress to allow it to cut benefits for both current and retired members because it is in such bad shape."

Concluded Georgell, "We have a solution to help our employees enjoy the retirement they deserve. Recently, more than 300 Republic Services Teamsters in Michigan overwhelmingly ratified new contracts that allowed them to exit Central States and join the well-funded Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust."

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) is an industry leader in the U.S. non-hazardous solid waste industry.  Through its subsidiaries, Republic's collection companies, transfer stations, recycling centers and landfills focus on providing reliable environmental services and solutions for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers.  Republic and its employees believe in protecting the planet and applying common sense solutions to customers' waste and recycling challenges. For more information, visit the Republic website at republicservices.com. 

SOURCE Republic Services