KOIN6. July 27:
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via Komo4. Aug 1:
Union, Waste Management reach tentative agreement to end strike
SEATTLE — Officials from Waste Management say they’ve reached a tentative agreement with the Teamsters Local 117 to end the eight-day garbage and yard waste strike.
At 7 p.m., Waste Management released a statement saying the two parties had agreed on a new 6-year-contract.
Union leaders have not commented on the agreement, but Waste Management said teamster leadership and the bargaining committee will recommend members approve the new contract at a Thursday ratification vote.
“We are extremely pleased that we reached an agreement on a new contract that delivers a solid compensation package to our hard working professional drivers,” Waste Management’s Robin Freedman said in the news release.
Garbage drivers will return to their regular collection routes on Thursday morning, according to Waste Management.
“Teamster drivers work hard and deserve fair compensation for the important work that they perform,” Tracey Thompson, Secretary Treasurer for Teamster Local 117 said in the release. “We are pleased to have negotiated a contract that recognizes the professionalism of our members.”
Details of the new deal were not made public.
Waste Management has the contract to collect waste in 60 percent of Seattle.
About 150 yard waste and recycling truck drivers represented by Local 117 walked out on July 25 after their contract expired at the end of May. About 350 garbage truck drivers represented by Local 174 are not crossing picket lines.
Local 117 wanted to close a gap of about $9 an hour between the yard waste-recycling truck drivers and the garbage haulers. They drive similar trucks and the same routes and deserve the same pay, the union says.
Waste Management had said it was offering a six-year deal that would raise average salaries from $58,000 to $68,000 a year. If benefits are included, the offer was worth $98,000 a year to a driver at the end of the sixth year, the company said.
The median household annual income in 2011 in King County was about $54,000 and in Snohomish County about $51,000, the state Office of Financial Management estimated.
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Relevant video from 2010:
via Teamsters Local 117. April 11, 2010:
GREY COAST ANARCHIST NEWS 