SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Trash service delays in the South Bay continued into Friday as Chula Vista's lone trash company faces a nationwide strike.
The city was notified by Republic Services on Thursday about a temporary work stoppage in Boston and other locations, including Chula Vista. The workers in the affected communities, including Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, were not on strike as of Friday morning, but rather honoring the picket line extended by the union in Boston, a Teamsters spokesperson said.
In a statement, the city says Republic Services is making adjustments to operations and working to resume regular services as quickly as possible and advised people to leave containers out.
In a statement released Wednesday, Teamsters demanded better pay and benefits and said Republic Services has threatened a war with American workers for years.
“To the millions of Americans seeing their trash pile up because of Republic’s strike, remember one thing: this corporation has hauled in $77 billion. Republic can easily afford a fair and competitive contract that meets the needs of everyday hardworking Americans,” said Victor Mineros, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division. “This corporation has instead chosen to screw over working people and their families, and it will suffer the consequences.”
Chula Vista Mayor John McCann held a 12:30 p.m. press conference scheduled to outline the city's response. The mayor has called for a special city council meeting for 5 p.m. Monday to address the issue further.
Republic Services provided the following statement to 10News Friday morning:
"Republic Services is in contract negotiations with the union representing some of our employees in the Boston area and four other locations. Those employees are engaged in a temporary work stoppage, and some have expanded their picketing to other company locations, including facilities in the San Diego area.
"As a result, some of our Chula Vista union-represented employees are honoring the picket line, causing temporary service delays in the San Diego area. Carlsbad is not impacted at this time.
"We are making adjustments to our operations and working to resume regular service as quickly as possible. Residents are advised to leave their containers out. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
Teamsters Local 542 represents the workers in the San Diego area. Teamsters says it represents about 8,000 Republic waste collection workers across the country; more than 2,000 of them were currently on strike or honoring picket lines as of Wednesday.
ABC 10News has previously reported on a Republic Services strike in the past: In December 2021, more than 250 sanitation workers walked off the job during stalled contract negotiations.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Dec. 31, 2021: Sanitation workers strike moves into new year as San Diegans' trash piles up
- Jan. 17, 2022: Trash workers strike over — Republic Services, workers union agree to deal that ends work stoppage
This is a developing story. ABC 10News has assigned a crew to cover the press conference and gather more details for this report.
