TEAMSTERS CALIFORNIA CALLS FOR SB 1371 PASSAGE TO HOLD WASTE CONTRACTORS ACCOUNTABLE

Legislation Would Prevent Municipalities from Paying for Canceled Trash Pick Ups

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters celebrate the passage of Senate Bill 1371 (SB 1371) out of the California State Senate Committee on Local Government and call for every lawmaker in the upper chamber to support the bill when it comes up for a floor vote. SB 1371, authored by Sen. María Elena Durazo, would prevent municipalities from being forced to pay for waste and recycling services that aren't rendered because of a work stoppage.

"SB 1371 will lead to healthier communities, cost savings for local governments, increased corporate accountability, and a higher standard of living for the unsung heroes who power our state's recycling and waste management infrastructure," said Victor Mineros, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division and Co-Chair of Teamsters California. "Passing this bill is a no brainer. Every lawmaker in Sacramento should get on board with it."

During strikes, waste companies usually impose force majeure provisions in their contracts with municipalities. These allow the companies to collect money from taxpayers without providing trash or recycling pickups. SB 1371 would ensure force majeure provisions can no longer be invoked because of labor disputes, which companies have the clear ability to stop or prevent. This will incentivize sanitation contractors to resolve the strikes they cause much faster.

"Workers don't choose to strike — we are forced to by employers that fail to bargain fair contracts. When we are left with no choice but to withhold our labor, we lose wages but we still have families to feed," said Marcus Ford, a member of Teamsters Local 396 at Republic Services. "Waste companies know exactly what they're doing — the longer they drag out strikes, the more the trash piles up and the more our communities suffer. But employers are barely affected because the force majeure clause sitting in their back pockets is a get-out-of-jail-free card."

Problems with municipal waste management plagued California last summer following a nationwide strike caused by Republic Services, which forced a number of the affected cities and towns to sue the trash giant for breach of contract. In September, contracts covering over 3,000 Solid Waste Teamsters who provide services to millions of people throughout Southern California, including Los Angeles County, are set expire.

Teamsters California is the united voice of 250,000 workers across dozens of industries who power the state's economy and communities every single day. For more information, go to teamstersca.org.

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SOURCE Teamsters California