Garbage strike ends: Republic Services and union come to agreement

Updated Sat. July 19

Republic Services has announced an agreement that will end the strike in west Contra Costa County, local officials announced Friday evening.

The end of the strike comes as Republic Services and the Teamsters union agreed to a contract in their Stockton labor dispute which triggered work stoppages in the Bay Area.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said that regular garbage, recycling and green waste collection would start up again on Monday with garbage being picked up on the regularly scheduled day.

“Republic intends to continue collection pickup this Saturday to catch up from the disruption,” Gioia said in a Facebook post. “The County is moving forward with demanding rate relief for residents.”

Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez also announced via email that Republic was in the midst of “calling drivers and restoring full service as quickly as possible.”

“To continue supporting our residents during this transition, the City will maintain temporary disposal options on Saturday, similar to last weekend,” Martinez wrote.

The three city-sponsored drop off areas on Saturday will operate from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m and are the Civic Center Parking Lot, between 24th/25th St. & Barrett/Nevin Ave., the Richmond Fire Training Center, 3506 Cutting Blvd. and La Moine Park (also known as Cheese Park),3530 Morningside Dr.

There is a limit of four bags per resident.

If residents can’t make it to those drop off areas, they can also drop off at the Golden Bear Transfer Station, 1 Parr Blvd., Richmond (off the Richmond Parkway), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or the West County Resource Recovery Facility, 101 Pittsburg Rd., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Updated Mon., July 14

Although the Republic Services strike hasn’t been resolved, the company has announced it will resume collecting garbage from residences and most small businesses.

However, it said, recycling and green waste will not be collected.

“We anticipate running limited residential and commercial trash collection routes through Saturday July 19th,” the company stated. “We anticipate returning to our regular service schedule the week of July 21st.”

Residents are advised to put only their garbage container at the curb, along with any extra bagged trash, and that the pickup may occur on a non-scheduled day.  The city of Richmond said seniors or people with disabilities who cannot carry their trash out can call (510) 620-5407 and leave a message with their name, address and phone number to request assistance.

Residents with identification can still also bring up to four bags of garbage per household to the Golden Bear Transfer Station, 1 Parr Blvd., Richmond (off the Richmond Parkway) on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (no bulky items or e-waste is allowed).

Jean Campbell, a 79-year-old Pinole resident who lives in Tara Hills, said that although she typically does not generate a lot of garbage, she’s unable to take it anywhere herself.

“I can’t lift or walk very far so I’m not going to carry heavy bags of garbage into my vehicle,” she wrote Richmondside in a message. “Or take a chance on smelling up the vehicle that I transport my grandchildren in and then have to lift it in and out of the back of my hatchback.”

She said, however, that as a former union member she supports the Teamsters and believes they have a right to strike for fair wages.

“I don’t think it is right to cross the picket line,” Campbell said.

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said he’s asking Republic Services to provide rate relief to residents as compensation for the week-long service stoppage.

Emily Goldberg of Tara Hills told Richmondside Monday that she called Republic on to see if the company would be giving customers any service credits due to the inconvenience of the ongoing strike but was told that there are no plans to do that.

“I still filed a request for credit, but it’s unknown if it will be approved, and no one should be getting charged when services aren’t being provided,” Goldberg said.

Besides trash build up concerns, Goldberg said she is troubled that Republic seems to be “undercutting the strike” by charging customers for a service that is not being provided.

“They are letting people drive their trash to the dump for free,” she said. “This (method) doesn’t address the overflowing recycling or yard waste.”

Richmond and other Contra Costa County cities are among a number of Bay Area locales without trash pickup service this week due to a national Teamsters strike.

The work stoppage, which began in Boston on July 1 and started in the Bay Area on Tuesday, also includes cities in Washington, Georgia, Illinois, and other parts of northern California. Thousands of national Teamsters members are either on strike or have joined picket lines, according to the Associated Press, with an estimated 2,000 taking part in Northern California.

“We’re asking for better wages, comparable to industry averages and commensurate with the cost of living,” national Teamsters Communication Representative Matthew McQuaid told Richmondside last week. “Bargaining has not been going well.”

Gioia said Contra Costa County and several cities have sent Republic a “Notice of Breach of the Franchise Agreement.”  

Contra Costa Health Services has called a meeting of Bay Area health officers to discuss what actions can legally be taken to address any public health impacts that occur.

On Tue., July 8, members of the Teamsters Local 439 went on strike at the Republic Services landfill in Stockton. Teamster members across the East Bay, including Richmond, are stopping work in solidarity with drivers refusing to cross picket lines.

Residents have reported that trash is piling up in dumpsters and unemptied receptacles and said communication from the company has been spotty or nonexistent. Oddly, on Wed., July 9, Republic emailed customers citing “severe weather” as the cause of missed trash pickups.

“[Republic’s] email said service was delayed due to weather,” an El Sobrante resident wrote on Nextdoor, referring to current conditions of blue skies and mild temperatures. “Look outside.”

“It was beautiful weather for a labor action!” another user responded.

Republic later clarified that the weather message had been sent in error. Its local customer service line, which can be reached at 510-262-7100, greets callers with a robotic voice saying, “We are currently experiencing a delay in service due to unforeseen labor circumstances. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.”

Customers can look up their service schedule on the website but no details are provided beyond a “Service has been interrupted in your area. Some services may not be available to you at this time” message. The city of Richmond is also posting notices of the service interruption on its website.

Those whose collection bins are full are being advised to bag their extra garbage and place it next to the cart to be picked up when service resumes — an option that might not work so well in neighborhoods frequented by raccoons and such, customers pointed out.

Three days in, the work stoppage will continue until Republic returns to the bargaining table, McQuaid said.

“The company can end this anytime they want,” he said. “Republic Services has not been an agreeable partner, to say the least.”

Republic Services said in an email to Richmondside that it’s in contract negotiations with the union representing “some of our employees at Forward Landfill [in Stockton].”

“These employees have expanded their picketing to other locations in the Bay Area. As a result, many customers are experiencing service delays.”

“This work stoppage does not benefit our employees, our customers or the communities we serve,” Republic wrote. “We are ready to continue discussions with the union to reach an agreement at Forward Landfill that benefits our employees, our customers and our company.”

McQuaid said employees would rather be at work.

“They don’t just provide waste services for Richmond, they send their kids to school — they’re active participants in their neighborhoods. It’s really Republic that’s hurting these cities and towns.”

Republic customers shocked by recent fee hike; Richmond tried to attract new garbage service

The Richmond City Council approved a 15-year solid waste collection agreement with Republic at a June meeting, concluding an 18-month competitive procurement process that began with a 2022 council directive to modernize the city’s waste management services.

The council decided in May 2023 to initiate a competitive selection process, opening up a request for proposal process jointly with San Pablo in January of 2024.

City staff told the council that despite their efforts to broadly solicit bids from other trash collection companies, ultimately Republic was the only one that submitted a proposal.

The $150 million contract, which went into effect July 1, replaces Richmond’s existing 1985 agreement. The new 15-year term runs through 2040 with two optional five-year extensions at the city’s discretion.

Key points of the agreement include plans to deploy 20 electric collection vehicles by 2028, expanded bulky waste services for multi-family dwellings, and rate stabilization measures using $500,000 in city funds to offset initial customer increases.

Richmond Sanitary Service (a subsidiary of Republic) will reimburse the city $150,000 for procurement costs and continue paying a 17.5% franchise fee on gross revenues.

Initial rate increases range from 1.4% to 2.5% for residential customers, with annual adjustments capped at 5% based on the Consumer Price Index.

Customers expressed their shock at seeing the first increase in their recent bills, saying they’re paying an additional $20 every three-month billing period.

“Past increases weren’t anything like this,” said Ashley H. of May Valley on Nextdoor. “Why was this approved??? It’s not like we are getting better service.”

A Tara Hills resident said she “couldn’t believe her eyes.”

“It’s always gone up a dollar or so but not this much. It’s just ridiculous.”

Richmondside Editor Kari Hulac contributed to this report.