SEATTLE — Garbage company Waste Management said Tuesday night that the union representing garbage haulers in King and Snohomish counties has broken off contract talks. A spokesman for Teamsters Local 174 says the company is refusing to bargain.
Teamsters spokesman Michael Gonzales says the roughly 400 garbage haulers will be on the job as usual today. Beyond that, he says “we’re weighing all of our options.” The company says it has replacement drivers on standby in the event of a strike.
The Teamsters’ previous contract with Waste Management expired March 31.
Gonzales says the Teamsters plan to vote Sunday on a tentative agreement with another garbage company, Allied Waste.
The companies haul waste for about 1 million people in the two counties.
After Sunday’s vote, Gonzales says the union will turn its attention again to Waste Management. The union has filed five unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
Gonzales says the company’s “best, last, final” offer last week contained 12 significant modifications the union hadn’t seen before. Company spokeswoman Jackie Lang says the company is committed to that proposal and says the Teamsters “are still in denial about the economics.”
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