San Diego Teamsters Extend Picket Line to King County

January 12, 2022

*Information via the Teamsters Union (photo credit: Teamsters Local 117)

King County workers at Republic Services represented by Teamsters Local 117 and 174 are honoring picket lines that were established by striking Teamsters from San Diego. The California sanitation workers from Local 542 raised pickets this morning at the company’s facilities in Bellevue, Lynnwood, Kent, and Seattle.

The 250 members of Teamsters Local 542 have been on strike since December 17 after the company refused to bargain in good faith and failed to address the workers’ demands for improved safety conditions in contract negotiations.

In solidarity with the San Diego Teamsters, Local workers who serve communities across the Puget Sound region exercised their contractual rights and honored Local 542’s picket lines at the four Republic Services locations.

In 2020, Republic Services earned over $10 billion, with $1.2 billion in net profit, while its CEO’s total compensation totaled over $12 million. Republic’s largest shareholder is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Gates’ investment advisor sits on Republic’s board of directors.

Republic Services provides residential and commercial recycle and yard waste disposal services to communities across our region. Some of the cities the company serves include Bellevue, Hunts Point, Medina, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, North Bend, Auburn, Sammamish, Kent, Renton, Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Lynnwood, Monroe, Edmonds, and commercial recycle disposal in the City of Seattle.

San Diego Teamsters will be holding picket lines at the following King County locations from early in the morning until late afternoon if you would like to stop by with food, coffee, or to show your support:

Kent
22010 76th Ave S, Kent, WA 98032

Bellevue
1600 127th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005

Seattle
54 S Dawson St., Seattle, Wa 98134

**Times and locations for this strike may change. We will update this page with new information when it is received.