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20h ago

Bay Area Garbage Collection Halted as Teamsters Press for Livable Wages

Overflowing public dumpsters underscore a deadlocked standoff over cost-of-living contracts

More than 400 waste collection workers walked off the job after their contract with waste management company Republic Services expired on July 1, 2025.
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Trash is piled up outside an apartment complex in Union City, Calif., on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Sanitation workers halted garbage pickup across the Bay Area this week as part of a larger ongoing Teamsters union strike effort happening throughout the US. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Overview

  • Picket lines by Teamsters Local 439 at the Forward Landfill have halted trash pickups in about 25 Northern California cities since July 8.
  • Republic Services has skipped residential collections for at least two days and is operating a skeleton crew for essential pickups without a timeline for resuming full service.
  • Union City’s public dumpsters have overflowed as Fremont officials bring in substitute crews and open alternative drop-off sites to cope with uncollected waste.
  • Approximately 2,000 of Republic Services’ 8,000 Teamsters members are on strike nationwide and have been directed by General President Sean O’Brien to expand work stoppages state by state.
  • Local 439 workers at Forward Landfill are seeking their first contract with wages and benefits tied to the cost of living to match other waste management employees.