After weeks of working without a contract, garbage haulers are officially on strike against Waste Management. Teamsters Local 174 spokesperson Michael Gonzales tells our news partners, the Seattle Times, that the strike started at 10:30 Wednesday morning. Workers were told to return their trucks to their base and set up picket lines. According to the Times, about 400 union members who drive garbage trucks and work at county landfills and transfer stations are on strike. The 300 members of Local 117, who collect yard waste and recycling, are expected to honor the picket lines, the Times reports.
Seattle Public Utilities says that if your garbage was not collected Wednesday, put it out again next week on your normal collection day. If your collection day is Thursday, put your garbage out as normal. “Service delivery and the protection of public health and safety are the city’s top priority and we expect Waste Management to honor its collection contract, regardless of its dispute with the Teamsters,” Seattle Public Utilities Acting Director Ray Hoffman said. (Thanks crownhiller for posting this in the forum.)
Of course this was the week that I forgot to set out our bins. :)