Teamsters Local 174 and Waste Management Bargain Into the Early Morning

Company Could Profit From Labor Dispute

SEATTLE, April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Talks between Waste Management and sanitation workers represented by Teamsters Local Union 174 went into the early morning hours today after the company returned to the bargaining table on Monday.

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"The union has made significant movement to get a deal and while the company has shown signs of interest, Waste Management is still refusing to provide the same health care protections provided by other major waste companies in the area," said Rick Hicks, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local Union 174. "We believe a deal is within reach if the company is willing to spend money to protect their employees instead of on a slick public relations campaign and unqualified replacement workers who will be a threat to the safety of our neighborhoods."

Over the weekend Waste Management flew in approximately 500 out-of-state strike breakers to prepare for a lockout with assistance from approximately 100 staffers from Huffmaster, a company that specializes in lockouts and strikes.

"Waste Management is spending millions of taxpayer dollars on wages, plane tickets, rental cars and hotel rooms for out-of-state strike breakers and security guards," Hicks said. "That's money that could be used to cut rates to area residents and businesses and match the health care coverage provided by its major competitors."

A lockout would create an opportunity for Waste Management to move trash away from King County's landfill system and into its Oregon landfill. Recently, King County pushed back the closure of its county landfill from 2015 to 2024, putting an end to Waste Management's plan to bolster its Oregon landfill business. However, a lockout could cause the county-owned landfill to become inoperable, allowing Waste Management to capture $85 million/year in public revenue by forcing city officials to move trash to Oregon via train.

"Waste Management makes its largest profits in landfill operations, not on curbside pick-ups," said Peter Anderson, a waste industry expert and President of RecycleWorlds Consulting.  "King County is an attractive market, and the question that must be answered is whether the company is abusing this dispute to win landfill business so that it can later impose monopoly pricing by incorrectly claiming that it is their employee's fault."

Bargaining is scheduled to resume today with assistance from a federal mediator.

SOURCE Teamsters Local Union 174