SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Although talks have broken off between a union representing garbage haulers and Waste Management, pick-up in Marysville and Arlington will continue as planned Thursday, April 8.
According to Waste Management’s Web site on April 8, “All collection services are being provided on schedule today.”
According to a statement issue by Jackie Lang, spokesperson for Waste Management, Teamsters Local 174 has provided the company with a proposal that “far exceeds” its previous best and final contract offer.
Drivers for Waste Management have been working without a labor contract since April 1, after their previous contract expired March 31.
The statement, issued April 6, said that the union did not provide a time or date for future bargaining sessions.
But union spokesman Michael Gonzales told the Associated Press that the company is refusing to bargain.
Gonzales said that the Teamsters are “weighing all of our options,” adding that approximately 400 garbage haulers were on the job as usual on Wednesday, April 7.
Waste Management has replacement drivers on standby should a strike occur.
The cities of Arlington and Marysville both contract with the garbage and recycling provider. All residents who live within the cities of Arlington and Marysville are required to subscribe to recycling services provided by Waste Management.
Garbage pickup is also provided by the company to those who live in all of Arlington. The city of Marysville collects garbage from all residents who live in the city limits with the exceptions of the Sunnyside and central annexation areas where the garbage is collected by Waste Management.
The Teamsters have also filed five unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Waste Management.
“This is a typical Union tactic designed to avoid the real issues and economics of our Last, Best and Final proposal,” Lang wrote in the statement, adding “The Teamsters are clearly in denial about the economics.”
Waste Management provides service in Snohomish and King counties, and its customers reside in Seattle, Auburn, Bothell, Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Newcastle, Maple Valley, Renton, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Duvall, Carnation, Mill Creek, Darrington and Granite Falls.
For updated information or to see whether pick-up is scheduled for your area, visit Waste Management’s Web site and click on “Labor Negotiations Update.”
